Whether you’re heading to Chicago for the museums, the theater, the architecture, or the food, there’s no doubt about it, you’ll be impressed with all this city has to offer. It’s a wonderful place… to visit. But to live there? That takes a certain kind of person. Someone who loves city life through and through. Someone who doesn’t mind the hustle and bustle and maybe a little noise. For the rest of us, though, there are always the suburbs.
Don’t worry, these 10 places aren’t your stereotypical boring suburbs—they are near Chicago, after all. No, these 10 places are cream of the crop. Here are the 10 best Chicago suburbs: 1. Burr Ridge (tie)
1. Park Ridge (tie)
3. Glenview
4. Kenilworth
5. La Grange (tie)
5. Palos Park (tie)
7. La Grange Park (tie)
7. Western Springs (tie)
9. Wilmette
10. Willow Springs
We created this list by looking at Chicago’s nearby communities in terms of the following criteria:
And then, a whole lot of calculation later, we came up with this list. We’ll get more into our methodology at end of the post, though. For now, let’s take a look at Chicago’s 10 best ‘burbs. First up to bat, Burr Ridge.
If you’re looking for a Chicago suburb with as much to do as in the city itself… Well, that just won’t happen. Chicago is crazy entertaining. But, as far as suburbs go, Burr Ridge is probably one of the most exciting. It has more amenities per capita than all but one other place we looked at, plus, the standard of life here is pretty hard to beat. That means high income, nice houses, and yes, a painfully high cost of living. Think of it this way, though: A life in Burr Ridge is an investment for your family. There are excellent schools here, festivals throughout the year, the types of neighborhoods you only usually see in movies, and a real sense of community. It really is A Very Special Place.
Just 14 miles northwest of downtown Chicago lies the utterly adorable City of Park Ridge. This city is the perfect combination of small-town charm and the convenience you’d expect from a city. Its Uptown area is dotted with shops, popular restaurants, the public library, and several parks where in the summer, festivals and events are held. The residential areas are filled with tree-lined streets, children playing in their front yards, neighbors waving at one another while mowing their lawns… You get the idea—it’s a wonderful place to raise a family. And hey, if you’re not quite ready for a family yet, don’t worry, with an average commute of just 27 minutes, fun is just a quick drive away.
If you want a few amenities here and there in your Chicago suburb, well, Glenview is not the place for you. But if you want thousands of amenities, from restaurants and coffee shops to spas and fitness studios, Glenview might suit you just fine. For the shoppers out there, Glenview has you covered—and then some. Plus, there are four golf clubs, the Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago, theaters, Wagner Farm, and well over 100 restaurants for you to choose from. So if you want the convenience and amenities of a bigger city, without actually having to, you know, live in a bigger city, Glenview might just be the place for you.
With just under 3,000 residents, this little village is easily the smallest place in our top 10. And if you’re picturing some quaint, charming, small town where the kids play baseball out on a dirt field someplace, well, you couldn’t be more wrong. Also, you’ve seen “Sandlot” too many times. Kenilworth is all the chic without the shabby. Not only do residents make more money here than anywhere else in the area (a median of $230,000 per year), but they also have the nicest and most expensive homes. Median cost? Oh just about $1.4 million. Of course there aren’t very many amenities or things to really do here, but who cares? If you live here, you’re probably a millionaire and can just fly to Mexico for the weekend.
Here’s what you’ll love about La Grange: more than most places, it has somehow managed to maintain its small-town charm, and yet, it continues to thrive and grow with new residents and business trickling in every year. Case in point: the downtown area is dotted with new shops and restaurants, but mixed in are old staples like the hardware store, art league, and camera shop. There are festivals and a weekly farmers’ market. The neighborhoods are safe and the homes are… well, they’re still expensive, but certainly not the most expensive on our list. In short, the community is charming, it’s safe, and it’s a whole lot less expensive than our previous suburb.
If you’re in the market for a quick commute and tons of shops, restaurants, and a buzzing nightlife—Palos Park is not the place for you. However, if you’re looking for a quiet and peaceful escape from the city, keep reading. Palos Park is nestled among a dense wooded area. If you move here, you’ll be surrounded by hills, creeks, oak trees, and a more rural setting than most of the places we’ve looked at so far. It’s safe, the schools are some of the finest, and all around, it’s a wonderful place to come home… Just be prepared for the commute.
The Village of La Grange Park has a little something for everyone. If you’re a lover of the outdoors, La Grange Park has you covered with over 24 acres of parkland, nearby forest preserves, and the Salt Creek Bike Trail. More into shopping? There are literally tens of businesses for you to enjoy! Okay, so amenities aren’t exactly its strong point (it had the fourth fewest per capita), but it more than makes up for this with its close-knit community feel, its safety, and award-winning public and private schools, like Lyons Township High School and Nazareth Academy.
This little village of just under 13,000 residents is based around the downtown area—it’s where the festivals are, the shops, the restaurants, and of course, lots of friendly faces which you’ll quickly start to recognize. The residential areas are mostly tree-lined neighborhood streets, well manicured lawns, and yes, more friendly faces. It’s a wonderful place to raise a family, with some of the best schools in the area (a high school graduation rate of 99 percent!), a low number of crimes, and one of the highest median incomes in the state, let alone the Chicago area. And that’s something the whole family can enjoy!
This affluent Chicago suburb is probably best known for its beautiful lakefront homes, tree-lined streets, green lanterns, brick streets, and of course, the absolutely stunning Baha’i House of Worship. But the real reason you’ll fall in love with this community isn’t something you’ll find just by looking at it. It’s the overall feeling of security, well being, safety, and community. And, of course, the Wilmette Chuck Wagon. Pretty much reason enough to move here.
The Village of Willow Springs is the perfect community for those looking to get away from it all. Here you can get back to nature at one of the community parks or forest preserve trails. You can connect with your family, without all the distractions of a big city (including amenities). And you can get to know the people around you—which you undoubtedly will, as Willow Springs is only about four square miles and 5,000 people strong. It’s peaceful, it’s quiet, and it’s literally about 10 times safer than living in Chicago.
We said it once and we’ll say it again—Chicago is a wonderful city. And don’t get us wrong, there are lots of people who would love to live here! But if at the end of a long day of museum-hopping, pizza-gorging, and walking (and walking, and walking), you’d rather retreat to some peace and quiet, you’re probably better off heading to one of these places just outside of the city. And we can help you get there.
We touched on our methodology just a little bit earlier, but in this section, we’ll give you a few more details. Just like any of our other Big Deal Lists at Movoto, for this one we relied strictly on facts and figures, not opinions or hearsay. We used business listings and AreaVibes to research all of the suburbs surrounding Chicago in terms of the following:
If a place didn’t have complete data, it wasn’t included in our analysis, so we were left with a total of 29 places. For each category above, we ranked all of our places with scores from one to 29. Then, we averaged all of these scores into one overall Big Deal Score, where the lowest scores went to our best suburbs. 
Know Chicago? Tell us your favorite suburb in the comments below!
