Trulia released a list of America’s best value neighborhoods Friday that detailed the 100 biggest metros’ values. Trulia’s list considered first-time buyers and where in the country they could get the best value for their money.
Neighborhoods were not just ranked on price, but a combination of listing prices, entry-level affordability, school information, crime statistics, commute times and other amenities like restaurants. What resulted was a list of neighborhoods with the best livabilities among America’s most expensive metros.
Suburb Not City Living
The rankings come during a shift among millennials who choose to live in the suburbs versus cities. According to Zillow, 50 percent of millennials live in the suburbs while 20 percent live in rural areas. The percentage of millennials living in the suburbs speaks to a pattern of migration away from cities and into the suburbs because of more affordable options.
For Chicago, the best neighborhood was Fairgrounds Park which scored an affordability score of seven, restaurant rank of nine, commute rank of nine, school rank of eight and crime rank of ten. Trulia’s list also included the median home values within neighborhoods, Fairgrounds Park’s was $238,018.
Instead of there being a dead last neighborhood, the list features five neighborhoods vying for the seventh spot: Kipling Estates, Liberty Park of Downers Grove, Arlington Heights, Oakside and Talcott Glen. All the neighborhoods’ individual rankings (affordability, restaurants, commute, etc.) equaled the same amount placing them all at the same value level.
All median home values for the neighborhoods were below $300,000, a reasonable price relative to other suburbs in the nation, according to Trulia. Commute and crime had consistently high rankings in the nineties while the lowest category was affordability with 73, a high score compared to most other researched neighborhoods that scored 50 or below.
Rank | City | Neighborhood | Median Home Value |
1 | Palatine | Fairgrounds Park | $238,018 |
2 | Palatine | Palatine Manor | $247,161 |
2 | Orland Park | Cameno Real | $229,943 |
4 | Crystal Lake | Walkup at the Park | $267,237 |
4 | Northbrook | Shermer Place | $249,722 |
4 | Downers Grove | First Liberty Park | $226,799 |
7 | Shorewood | Kipling Estates | $265,640 |
7 | Downers Grove | Liberty Park of Downers Grove | $225,659 |
7 | Arlington Heights | Arlington Heights Garden | $263,773 |
7 | Oak Lawn | Oakside | $226,223 |
7 | Village of Lakewood | Talcott Glen | $294,207 |