Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 65/100
C+
Median home value$414,500
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$1,760/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households26%
Chicago 33%
Arlington Heights
Cook County76,005 residents5 school districts
66
C+
Suburbgrade score
13th of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strong on schools and amenities, held back by cost of living.
66
Chicago median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Arlington Heights yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 66 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Arlington Heights is like to live in, by category
Bars show Arlington Heights against Chicago. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 78/100
B+
Within-state proficiency72nd pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio14.0
Chicago median 13.7
Graduation rate—
Chicago median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 54/100
C−
Housing cost index120
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate1.98%
Chicago 1.83%
Local sales tax8.96%
Chicago median 8.96%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 55/100
C−
Mean commute27.7 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes55%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi0.2
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 76/100
B
Restaurants & cafés63
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks110
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 69/100
B−
Median household income$116,723
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment3.5%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations58%
Chicago 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Arlington Heights yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Arlington Heights on cost of living
Arlington Heights's weakest grade is C−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Cicero21 mi from Arlington HeightsC+ 49 D+ Niles10 mi from Arlington HeightsC+ 62 C Downers Grove21 mi from Arlington HeightsC 68 B− Addison12 mi from Arlington HeightsC 56 C− Elk Grove Village6 mi from Arlington HeightsC 62 C Des Plaines6 mi from Arlington HeightsC 66 C+ Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Arlington Heights
Is Arlington Heights, IL a good place to live?
Arlington Heights scores 66 out of 100, 13th of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Arlington Heights expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $414,500, 28% above the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.98%. $1,760/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Arlington Heights?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Arlington Heights sit at the 72nd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 14.0 student–teacher ratio. Arlington Heights is served by Township Hsd 214, Arlington Heights SD 25, Wheeling CCSD 21, Comm Cons SD 59 and Prospect Heights SD 23. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Arlington Heights?
The mean commute is 27.7 min, with 55% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 25% working from home. Transit density is 0.2 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Arlington Heights?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 63 restaurants and cafés and 110 parks, which grades B on amenities.
Are the homes in Arlington Heights old or new?
The median home in Arlington Heights was built in 1974 — close to the Chicago median of 1971. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 60% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.