44fit
West Town
$2K median rent
Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village live inside this community area. Division Street energy, brick two-flats behind it.
NightlifePlannedWalk 29Safety 26
Chicago/North Center
46fit
North Center
Official community area: North Center
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · CPD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Aug 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Roscoe Village strollers and high home values. Quiet streets with a short hop to the river.
st ben'sst bensroscoe village
Best in Chicago for familiesWalkable ChicagoUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
100
52 violent · 587 property · 17.7 per 1k (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)+50 vs city set
Schools
90
Rating 8.5 / 10 nearby+42 vs city set
Walk
3
OSM: 19 groceries · 17 cafes · 121 transit · 48 parks-18 vs city set
Cost
100
$1,847 ACS median vs your rent budget+1 vs city set
Vibe
4
OSM: 17 cafes · 82 restaurants · 34 bars · 48 parks-15 vs city set
Commute to work
From North Center, a typical weekday is 42 min to The Loop, 31 min to North Side, 36 min to West Loop. Not live traffic.
North Side is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
The Loop
42 min
Offices, Grant Park · +5 min vs the city-set median
North Side
31 min
Lincoln Park, hospitals · -5 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
West Loop
36 min
Fulton Market · -1 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
ACS median gross rent is $1,847 across all occupied rental units — studios through large apartments mixed together, not a live 1-bed or 2-bed quote.
That is 15% of median household income — under the 30% HUD cost-burden line. A household at this area’s median income ($147K) could “afford” about $3,682 a month at 30% of gross pay.
43% of households rent. Median home value is $733,385.
ACS median rent
$1,847
30% income budget
$3,682
Rent / income
15%
Median home
$733,385
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Chicago city. Up 50% since 2014. North Center is 28% 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 gross household income as the cost-burden line. We do not split ACS median rent into 1-bed vs 2-bed — that table is all occupied rental units. Method.
Within a walk
Inside the official community area or within 800 meters of its centroid, OpenStreetMap maps 19 groceries, 17 cafes, 48 parks, and 121 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 48 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (121 stops or stations).
17 cafes and 82 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Chicago set.
Counts from OpenStreetMap, 800 m. Not a Walk Score license. Groceries here beat 8 of 19 other areas in this city set.
Population
36,014
Median age
36
Median income
$147K
Renters
43%
Bachelor+
81%
Violent / 1k
1.4
Property / 1k
16.3
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 14 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.
North Center is Roscoe Village strollers and high home values: quiet streets, a short hop to the river, and a commercial stretch on Lincoln/Roscoe that is brunch more than bars. It is Lincoln Square’s more expensive cousin, still far enough from the lake to feel residential.
The Brown Line and the highway edges shape the noise. Interior blocks do not. Weight schools and family flags. Nightlife is a short ride to Lake View, which is how the parents here designed it.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, and local coverage, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
Common questions
Answers from the same ACS, crime, and OSM figures on this page.
Is North Center safe?
On this map North Center is safer than most Chicago community areas in the set (safety 100 vs city 50). CPD logged 1.4 violent and 16.3 property incidents per 1,000 ACS residents — 17.7 combined. Rates mix residents and visitors. They are not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in North Center?
ACS median rent is $1,847. Median home value is $733,385. About 43% of households rent. These are survey medians, not this week's listings.
Is North Center walkable?
Walk scores 3 here vs 21 for the Chicago set — you will likely drive or ride for daily errands. OpenStreetMap counts within 800 meters: 19 groceries, 17 cafes, 121 transit stops, 48 parks.
Is North Center good for families?
The scores lean family-friendly relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 8.5 / 10. Median age is 36.
How long is the commute from North Center?
Typical weekday minutes to The Loop: 42. Not live traffic. Open the neighborhood page for the other job centers in Chicago.
How many people live in North Center?
About 36,014 residents, median income $147K, 81% with a bachelor's or higher. ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · CPD Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM.
What neighborhoods are next to North Center?
Closest on this map: Lincoln Square, Logan Square, Avondale. Compare North Center vs Lincoln Square if you are deciding between two official community areas.
Next door
Adjacent on the community area map, ranked with your weights.
North Center vs Lincoln SquareNorth Center vs Logan SquareNorth Center vs Avondale
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
Uptown
$1K median rent
Argyle, the Uptown Theatre, and a lakefront that never quite gentrified all the way. Density without Lake View prices.
WaterfrontWalk 17Safety 47
33fit
Avondale
$2K median rent
The next stop past Logan. Still industrial edges, still cheaper, still a Belmont bus.
PlannedWalk 3Safety 53