Chicago

Best Chicago suburbs for families

Ranked on a families weighting: schools at 30%, amenities within two miles at 20%, and the four poll questions about children, safety and sidewalks at 20%. Cost still counts, at 15%. The full weighting is shown at the bottom, and it is not the same as the overall score.

Updated Sep 2026·60 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
View of Fountain Square in Evanston, Illinois looking south-southeast towards Chicago and Lake Michigan
Evanston$481k median · 27.5 min commute
Schools AAmenities A+Residents inactive
77
Family score
overall 69 B−
2
main plaza, functionally a traffic island. Bronze sculptures and decorative programming call attention to its history as a former Naval Air Station terminal. Th
Glenview$610k median · 27.1 min commute
Schools A+Amenities B+Residents inactive
77
Family score
overall 72 B−
3
View of downtown Northbrook, Illinois looking down Shermer Rd
Northbrook$652k median · 26.8 min commute
Schools A+Amenities B−Residents inactive
77
Family score
overall 74 B
4
The skyline of Naperville, IL in 2022.
Naperville$540k median · 30.5 min commute
Schools AAmenities A−Residents inactive
76
Family score
overall 71 B−
5
Lake Street at dusk
Oak Park$466k median · 31.6 min commute
Schools AAmenities AResidents inactive
75
Family score
overall 67 C+
6
Lincolnway in downtown Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso$267k median · 24.8 min commute
Schools B+Amenities B+Residents inactive
75
Family score
overall 66 C+
7
Tower
Schaumburg$330k median · 27.8 min commute
Schools A−Amenities B+Residents inactive
74
Family score
overall 67 C+
8
Leaning Tower Of Niles
Niles$359k median · 28.3 min commute
Schools B+Amenities AResidents inactive
73
Family score
overall 62 C
9
City Hall in the Hazel Avenue/Prospect Avenue Historic District in Highland Park, IL (1930). Built with Wisconsin limestone, it is the third city hall built for
Highland Park$607k median · 27.5 min commute
Schools AAmenities BResidents inactive
73
Family score
overall 71 B−
10
Skokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Potawatomi word for "marsh". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted
Skokie$387k median · 27.9 min commute
Schools B+Amenities A−Residents inactive
73
Family score
overall 66 C+
This list's weighting
Schools 30%Amenities 20%Resident poll (Q2, Q5, Q6, Q8) 20%Cost of living 15%Housing 10%Commute 5%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Chicago lists
Most affordable Chicago suburbsBest Chicago suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown ChicagoMost walkable Chicago suburbsBest Chicago suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Chicago suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Evanston (Madcoverboy (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0); Glenview (Payton Chung from DCA, USA · CC BY 2.0); Northbrook (CL Minecraft · CC BY-SA 4.0); Naperville (Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0); Oak Park (Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0); Valparaiso (Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 3.0); Schaumburg (bogdanstepniak · CC BY 3.0); Niles (Miroslaw Mucha · Public domain); Highland Park (Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0); Skokie (Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0).