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Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of Naperville are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Naperville for 2022:
What's the best suburb of Naperville? Western Springs ranks as the best suburb of Naperville for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Western Springs, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Naperville 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.
Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Illinois:
The 10 Best Naperville Suburbs To Live For 2022
Western Springs is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Naperville area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Western Springs."
Everyone here is rich; families average $184,412 a year, which is the 3rd highest in the Naperville region. And only 2.57% are out of work. Homes average more than $609,600 each.
/10
Population: 13,247
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $184,412
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 3.0%
More on Western Springs: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Winfield is the second best 'burb we looked at near Naperville for 2022.
It ranks 13th for incomes in the area and only 1.38% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.
/10
Population: 9,683
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 5)
Median Income: $125,481
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%
Poverty Rate: 1.4%
More on Winfield: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Here in River Forest, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Naperville metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in River Forest.
/10
Population: 10,883
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 2)
Median Income: $125,288
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 2.2%
More on River Forest: Real Estate | Data | Photos
La Grange ranks as the 4th best suburb of Naperville for 2022.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in La Grange and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 15,555
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $122,629
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.6%
More on La Grange: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is Hinsdale.
Hinsdale gets kudos for having the most expensive homes in the Naperville area, where houses sell for an average of $882,700. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 17,366
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $206,701
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 1.9%
More on Hinsdale: Real Estate | Data | Photos
La Grange Park is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 3.43% which is 40th best in the area.
According to online reports, La Grange Park is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Naperville area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 13,129
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 9)
Median Income: $107,945
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 5.1%
More on La Grange Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Deer Park.
Deer Park schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it's only 29.1 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 4,005
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 10)
Median Income: $161,422
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 1.3%
More on Deer Park: Real Estate | Data
Park Ridge is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 3.01% of people lack insurance, good for 35th in the area.
/10
Population: 37,431
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 3)
Median Income: $113,809
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Park Ridge: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Is 'Everything Better In Inverness?'
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 7,959
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 3)
Median Income: $185,558
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%
Poverty Rate: 2.6%
More on Inverness: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Riverside.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
/10
Population: 8,748
Rank Last Year: 29 (Up 19)
Median Income: $120,336
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Poverty Rate: 2.7%
More on Riverside: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Naperville for 2022
Figuring out the best suburbs around Naperville was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Low unemployment rate
- High Median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.
FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Naperville.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 161 suburbs to evaluate around Naperville.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 161 in each category, where 1 was the "best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Naperville." We're lookin' at you, Western Springs. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Naperville 'Burbs of 2022
We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Naperville, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more Illinois reading, check out: