46fit
North Center
$2K median rent
Roscoe Village strollers and high home values. Quiet streets with a short hop to the river.
Family streetsWalk 3Safety 100
Chicago/Avondale
33fit
Avondale
Official community area: Avondale
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · CPD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Aug 2026 · updated Sep 2026
The next stop past Logan. Still industrial edges, still cheaper, still a Belmont bus.
Best in Chicago for familiesWalkable ChicagoUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
53
124 violent · 1061 property · 33.4 per 1k (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)+3 vs city set
Schools
40
Rating 7.0 / 10 nearby-8 vs city set
Walk
3
OSM: 27 groceries · 10 cafes · 118 transit · 32 parks-18 vs city set
Cost
100
$1,671 ACS median vs your rent budget+1 vs city set
Vibe
2
OSM: 10 cafes · 63 restaurants · 27 bars · 32 parks-17 vs city set
Commute to work
From Avondale, a typical weekday is 56 min to The Loop, 49 min to North Side, 36 min to West Loop. Not live traffic.
West Loop is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
The Loop
56 min
Offices, Grant Park · +19 min vs the city-set median
North Side
49 min
Lincoln Park, hospitals · +13 min vs the city-set median
West Loop
36 min
Fulton Market · -1 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
Minutes are baked from neighborhood geography to three job centers — not Google, not this hour’s traffic.
Cost of living
The ACS median rent is $1,671 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 22% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($93K) could “afford” about $2,318 a month at 30% of pay.
56% of households rent. Median home value is $472,751.
ACS median rent
$1,671
30% income budget
$2,318
Rent / income
22%
Median home
$472,751
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Chicago city. Up 50% since 2014. Avondale is 16% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. The dashed mark is this area’s ACS 2024 median.
HUD treats 30% of income as the cost-burden line. We do not split ACS rent into 1-bed vs 2-bed. Method.
Within a walk
Within a short walk of this official community area: 27 groceries, 10 cafes, 32 parks, and 118 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 32 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (118 stops or stations).
10 cafes and 63 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Chicago set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 13 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
35,533
Median age
35.2
Median income
$93K
Renters
56%
Bachelor+
47%
Violent / 1k
3.5
Property / 1k
29.9
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 10 census tracts · CPD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM 2026-08-31
Planned
Crime is CPD Part I reports per 1,000 ACS residents — not a judgment of who lives here. Home and rent figures are ACS medians, not live MLS. Read the method.
On the ground
What it is like to live here, beyond the scores.
Avondale is the next stop past Logan: still industrial edges, still cheaper, still a Belmont bus. Zillow notes Polish and Latin American dining on Milwaukee and a Blue Line connection — Chicago’s restaurant corridor without Logan’s farmers-market polish.
Housing is two-flats, bungalows, and newer low-rises. The scene is arriving, which is either exciting or a warning. Weight cost and walk. Logan Square is west-adjacent if you want the boulevard now.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, and local writing, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
Reported here lately
City 311 service requests in this official unit, last 14 days. This is what neighbors filed with the city — not a chat thread, and not part of the fit score.
352 reports
- Graffiti Removal90
- Pothole in Street58
- Rodent Baiting/Rat57
- Finance Parking Code Enforcement Review34
- Abandoned Vehicle34
- Tree Debris Clean-Up
- Pothole in Street
- Alley Pothole
- Tree Debris Clean-Up
- Alley Pothole
City of Chicago 311, last 14 days, by official community area number. Method.
On Reddit
Public posts from r/chicago that mention this neighborhood. Not Nextdoor, not people on this block, and not part of the fit score.
In r/chicago lately: schools.
- Dumpsters filled with new books and other school supplies outside Fuentes Elementary School in Avondale
r/chicago · Aug 4 · 267 upvotes · 60 comments
- Phase Three Brewing Opening Its First Chicago Taproom At Former Metropolitan Space In Avondale
r/chicago · Aug 6 · 254 upvotes · 28 comments
- Saint Hyacinth Basilica, Avondale
r/chicago · Aug 28 · 25 upvotes
The line above is a reading of the titles, not a verdict. Up to 3 links, last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Avondale safe?
Avondale is middle of the pack for Part I here (safety 53 vs city 50). CPD logged 3.5 violent and 29.9 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 33.4 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Avondale?
ACS median rent is $1,671 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 56% of households rent. Median home value is $472,751. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Avondale walkable?
Walk is 3 here vs 21 for the Chicago set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 27 groceries, 10 cafes, 118 transit stops, 32 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Avondale good for families?
There is more night and visitor traffic in the mix — not the quietest family default. Nearby school rating is 7.0 / 10. Median age is 35.2. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Avondale?
56 typical weekday minutes to The Loop. Not the app on your phone this hour. Other job centers are further down this page.
How many people live in Avondale?
About 35,533 people. Median income $93K. 47% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Avondale?
Irving Park, Logan Square, North Center sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official community areas, start with Avondale vs Irving Park.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Avondale vs Irving ParkAvondale vs Logan SquareAvondale vs North Center
43fit
Lincoln Square
$2K median rent
Ravenswood porches and a German plaza. The family read of the North Side without giving up a Brown Line stop.
Family streetsWalk 5Safety 84
43fit
Logan Square
$2K median rent
The boulevard, the farmers market, and Bucktown on the eastern edge. North-west Chicago's walkable default.
NightlifePlannedWalk 22Safety 42
39fit
Irving Park
$1K median rent
Bungalows, the Blue Line, and a calmer northwest. Less scene than Logan, more yard.
Family streetsWalk 0Safety 95
26fit
Humboldt Park
$1K median rent
The park is enormous; the streets around it are still working-class. Safety scores tell you to weight it honestly.
Walk 4Safety 32