Chicago/Compare
Avondale vs Irving Park
Avondale and Irving Park are two official community areas in Chicago. Irving Park is the calmer Part I map (95 vs 53). Walk is a wash (3 vs 0). Irving Park has the lower ACS median ($1,406).
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · CPD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Aug 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Scores
Fit axes among official Chicago community areas.
| Axis | Avondale | Irving Park |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 53 | 95 |
| Schools | 40 | 50 |
| Walk | 3 | 0 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 2 | 0 |
| Median rent | $1,671 | $1,406 |
| Median home | $472,751 | $481,485 |
| Population | 35,533 | 53,332 |
| Commute to The Loop | 56 min | 63 min |
| Commute to North Side | 49 min | 53 min |
| Commute to West Loop | 36 min | 46 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Avondale | Irving Park |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 56% | 49% |
| Median age | 35.2 | 37 |
| Median income | $93K | $93K |
| Part I per 1k | 33.4 | 17.8 |
| Groceries / 800m | 27 | 15 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 118 | 122 |
| Parks / 800m | 32 | 26 |
| 311 last 14 days | 352 | 379 |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Chicago city. Up 50% since 2014. Avondl is 16% above the 2024 city median. Irving is 2% below 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. Dashed marks are each area’s ACS 2024 median.
Which to pick
The same numbers as the table, in sentences. Nobody wins the city.
Pick Avondale if you want the cafes and the night and the shorter ride to The Loop is the point. Vibe is 2 vs 0. 56 vs 63 minutes to The Loop. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Irving Park if the quieter map matters more than the scene and the rent gap is the point. Safety is 95 vs 53. ACS median rent is $1,406 vs $1,671. Schools score 50 vs 40. Read both pages before you decide.
Avondale
The next stop past Logan. Still industrial edges, still cheaper, still a Belmont bus.
$1,671 median rent · safety 53 · walk 3
Irving Park
Bungalows, the Blue Line, and a calmer northwest. Less scene than Logan, more yard.
$1,406 median rent · safety 95 · walk 0
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Avondale or Irving Park?
Irving Park is the lower ACS median: $1,671 vs $1,406. About 49% rent in Irving Park vs 56% in Avondale. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Avondale more walkable than Irving Park?
Walk is basically a tie (3 vs 0). Count groceries if you care: 27 in Avondale vs 15 in Irving Park, inside 800 meters.
Which is safer on this map, Avondale or Irving Park?
Irving Park is the calmer Part I read (95 vs 53). Combined rate 17.8 vs 33.4 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Avondale or Irving Park?
Irving Park leads the school axis (50 vs 40). Nearby rating is 7.3 / 10 vs 7.0 / 10. Median age 37 vs 35.2. Avondale has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to The Loop?
56 minutes from Avondale to The Loop, 63 from Irving Park. Avondale is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official community area that is not Avondale or Irving Park: Logan Square. The boulevard, the farmers market, and Bucktown on the eastern edge. North-west Chicago's walkable default.
Scores are relative among official Chicago community areas with the same editorial weights. Read the method.