While big cities like Naperville offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Naperville. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Naperville without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Naperville are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Naperville area.
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Naperville for 2023:
What’s the best suburb of Naperville? Western Springs ranks as the best suburb of Naperville for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Western Springs, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Naperville ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Illinois:
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Naperville Suburbs To Live For 2023
/10
Population: 13,550
Median Income: $196,638
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 2.3%
More on Western Springs: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Western Springs is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Naperville area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Western Springs.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $196,638 a year, which is the 3rd highest in the Naperville region. And only 2.83% are out of work. Homes average more than $623,400 each.
/10
Population: 17,148
Median Income: $224,185
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 1.6%
More on Hinsdale: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Hinsdale is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Naperville for 2023.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 2.38% of residents lack insurance, good for 25th best.
/10
Population: 16,220
Median Income: $124,292
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.7%
More on La Grange: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in La Grange, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Naperville metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in La Grange.
/10
Population: 9,346
Median Income: $128,808
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 2.7%
More on Riverside: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Riverside ranks as the 4th best suburb of Naperville for 2023.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Riverside and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 39,562
Median Income: $124,535
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Park Ridge: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Park Ridge.
Park Ridge gets kudos for having the 17th most expensive homes in the Naperville area, where houses sell for an average of $458,600. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 7,684
Median Income: $190,458
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 2.4%
More on Inverness: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Inverness is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.27%.
According to online reports, Inverness is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Naperville area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 3,638
Median Income: $165,625
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 1.5%
More on Deer Park: Data | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Deer Park.
Deer Park schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 29.1 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 2,548
Median Income: $143,750
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 0.6%
More on Wayne: Data | Real Estate
Wayne is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 3.53% of people lack insurance, good for 47th in the area.
/10
Population: 5,012
Median Income: $198,388
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 2.0%
More on South Barrington: Data | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In South Barrington?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 21,472
Median Income: $126,759
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 2.4%
More on Geneva: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2023 is Geneva.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Naperville for 2023
Figuring out the best suburbs around Naperville was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2017-2021 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Naperville.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 160 suburbs to evaluate around Naperville.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 160 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Naperville.” We’re lookin’ at you, Western Springs.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2023. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Naperville suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Naperville ‘Burbs of 2023
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Naperville but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
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