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/Lincoln Square
43fit
Lincoln Square
Official community area: Lincoln Square
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · CPD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Aug 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Ravenswood porches and a German plaza. The family read of the North Side without giving up a Brown Line stop.
ravenswoodwelles park
Best in Chicago for familiesWalkable ChicagoUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
84
110 violent · 797 property · 21.7 per 1k (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)+34 vs city set
Schools
80
Rating 8.2 / 10 nearby+32 vs city set
Walk
5
OSM: 14 groceries · 25 cafes · 143 transit · 60 parks-16 vs city set
Cost
100
$1,576 ACS median vs your rent budget+1 vs city set
Vibe
4
OSM: 25 cafes · 71 restaurants · 16 bars · 60 parks-15 vs city set
Commute to work
From Lincoln Square, a typical weekday is 51 min to The Loop, 38 min to North Side, 46 min to West Loop. Not live traffic.
North Side is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
The Loop
51 min
Offices, Grant Park · +14 min vs the city-set median
North Side
38 min
Lincoln Park, hospitals · +2 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
West Loop
46 min
Fulton Market · +9 min vs the city-set median
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 $1,576 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 21% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($92K) could “afford” about $2,304 a month at 30% of pay.
59% of households rent. Median home value is $473,031.
ACS median rent
$1,576
30% income budget
$2,304
Rent / income
21%
Median home
$473,031
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Chicago city. Up 50% since 2014. Lincoln Square is 9% 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: 14 groceries, 25 cafes, 60 parks, and 143 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 60 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (143 stops or stations).
25 cafes and 71 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Chicago set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 4 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
41,651
Median age
37.1
Median income
$92K
Renters
59%
Bachelor+
68%
Violent / 1k
2.6
Property / 1k
19.1
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 11 census tracts · CPD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM 2026-08-31
Family streets
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.
Lincoln Square is Ravenswood porches and a German plaza — the family read of the North Side without giving up a Brown Line stop. Lincoln Avenue’s strip is restaurants and a bookstore, not a 2 a.m. district. People who outgrew Wrigleyville’s rooftops land here.
You are inland; the lake is a bus. The trade is quiet streets and a commercial square that still works on a Tuesday. Weight schools and safety. Compare to North Center if you want even less scene, or to North Center’s Roscoe Village if you want strollers with a slightly hotter housing market.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, Boston planning-neighborhood writing, 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.
342 reports
- Rodent Baiting/Rat74
- Graffiti Removal44
- Tree Debris Clean-Up44
- Tree Trim43
- Yard Waste Pick-Up39
- Tree Removal Inspection
- Graffiti Removal
- Tree Emergency
- No Building Permit and Construction Violation
- Weed Removal
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: pets and lost-and-found.
- Today's Lincoln Square Cat Tour
r/chicago · Aug 9 · 1233 upvotes · 81 comments
- Chicago’s first-ever ‘cat tour’ brings a day of whimsy to Lincoln Square: ‘I think people need it’ -- A large crowd descended on Lincoln Square Saturday — er, “Caturday” — to view
r/chicago · Aug 11 · 585 upvotes · 9 comments
- Found Dog in West Ridge/Lincoln Square area
r/chicago · Aug 22 · 141 upvotes · 12 comments
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 Lincoln Square safe?
Lincoln Square sits on the quieter side of this Chicago map (safety 84 vs city 50). CPD logged 2.6 violent and 19.1 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 21.7 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Lincoln Square?
ACS median rent is $1,576 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 59% of households rent. Median home value is $473,031. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Lincoln Square walkable?
Walk is 5 here vs 21 for the Chicago set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 14 groceries, 25 cafes, 143 transit stops, 60 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Lincoln Square good for families?
The scores lean family relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 8.2 / 10. Median age is 37.1. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Lincoln Square?
51 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 Lincoln Square?
About 41,651 people. Median income $92K. 68% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Lincoln Square?
North Center, Irving Park, Edgewater sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official community areas, start with Lincoln Square vs North Center.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Lincoln Square vs North CenterLincoln Square vs Irving ParkLincoln Square vs Edgewater
41fit
Edgewater
$1K median rent
Andersonville's Clark Street sits inside this community area. Beach to the east, bakeries to the west.
WaterfrontFamily streetsWalk 6Safety 79
39fit
Irving Park
$1K median rent
Bungalows, the Blue Line, and a calmer northwest. Less scene than Logan, more yard.
Family streetsWalk 0Safety 95
37fit
Rogers Park
$1K median rent
The city's far-north beach and a mix of students, immigrants, and long leases. Quieter than Edgewater, cheaper than Lake View.
WaterfrontWalk 5Safety 74
33fit
Avondale
$2K median rent
The next stop past Logan. Still industrial edges, still cheaper, still a Belmont bus.
PlannedWalk 3Safety 53