According to a recent survey, the Chicago area is the nation’s top “safest and richest” suburb. So is No. 2.
The GOBankingRates analysis assessed cities across the country using statistics such as average household income, total population, total households, cost of living indices, crime rates, and more, according to the editors.
Following that, editors ranked the best 30 suburbs to create a list.
Overall, the bulk of the suburbs in the ranking were located in New Jersey, Massachusetts, or California. However, the top five on the list were all from the Chicago region, with Cook County villages ranking first, second, and fifth.
Western Springs topped the list, according to GOBankingRates. According to the list, the southwestern suburb, located between Hinsdale and La Grange, has a population of 13,557 individuals. The average household median income is $276,402, while the average single-family home worth is $763,060.
Kenilworth, located on Chicago’s affluent North Shore, is second on the list. According to the list, the average household median income was $437,822, with a single-family home worth $1,768,606.
Kenilworth also appeared on another GOBankingRates survey earlier this year that ranked America’s “wealthiest suburbs.”
Winnetka, a northern suburb adjacent to Kenilworth, also made the list, ranking fifth.
In Winnetka, the average household median income was $458,988, and the average single-family home value was $1,623,361. The Chicago area is also home to the film’s famed Home Alone house, which recently sold for more than $5 million.
Wilmette, a North Shore suburb that borders Kenilworth, came in at number 17. According to the survey, Wilmette’s average household median income was $273,718, with an average single-family home worth of $909,173. Wilmette was also included in GOBankingRates’ 2024 report ranking the country’s “wealthiest suburbs.”
Only one other Midwestern town made the list: Ottawa Hills, Ohio, which came in at No. 6.
The whole list of 30 can be found here:
- Western Springs, Illinois
- Kenilworth, Illinois
- Lexington, Massachusetts
- Winchester, Massachusetts
- Winnetka, Illinois
- Ottawa Hills, Ohio
- Ridgewood, New Jersey
- Wellesley, Massachusetts
- Westfield, New Jersey
- Ross, California
- Glen Ridge, New Jersey
- Haddonfield, New Jersey
- Summit, New Jersey
- Chatham, New Jersey
- University Park, Texas
- Sammamish, Washington
- Wilmette, Illinois
- Vienna, Virginia
- Needham Massachusetts
- Mill Valley, California
- Newton, Massachusetts
- Hopkinton, Massachusetts
- Lafayette, California
- Hingham, Massachusetts
- Cupertino, California
- Greenwich, Connecticut
- Los Altos, California
- Kensington, California
- Bellaire, Texas
- Los Gatos, California
