What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Lincoln Square?
Lincoln Square is ranked #56 of 179 eligible neighborhoods in Chicago; #90 of 261 eligible neighborhoods in IL; and #2,937 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Lincoln Square
Chicago, IL | Cook County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
63.5
Stability and Strength
60.8
Value Opportunity
41.4
Momentum
98.7
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Chicago, IL |
| County | Cook County |
| National rank | #2,937 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #90 of 261 |
| City rank | #56 of 179 |
| County rank | #60 of 190 |
| National percentile | 80.4 |
| National band | TOP_25_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $1,074,998 |
| Year-over-year home value change | 13.9% |
| Month-over-month home value change | 1.18% |
| Home value to income ratio | 13.14 |
| Median household income | $81,785 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 71.7% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 5.5% |
| Homeownership rate | 53.6% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 4.1% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 35.9% |
How to read this profile
- Ranks are always shown with denominators.
- Momentum reflects both year-over-year and month-over-month housing change.
- Stability and Strength and Value Opportunity are governed composite scores.
- Identity composition is descriptive intelligence and is not a scoring component.
Questions and Answers
Questions About Living in Lincoln Square
Is Lincoln Square one of the best neighborhoods in Chicago?
Lincoln Square has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 63.5 and a city ranking of #56 of 179 eligible neighborhoods in Chicago.
How much are homes worth in Lincoln Square?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Lincoln Square is approximately $1,074,998.
Are home values rising or falling in Lincoln Square?
Zillow neighborhood values changed 13.9% year over year and 1.18% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Lincoln Square?
Lincoln Square has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 98.7. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Lincoln Square?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $81,785.
How affordable is Lincoln Square relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 13.14. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Lincoln Square primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 53.6%.
What is the unemployment rate in Lincoln Square?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 5.5%.
How educated are residents of Lincoln Square?
Approximately 71.7% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Lincoln Square face high rent burden?
Approximately 35.9% of the applicable renter-household universe is estimated to spend 30% or more of household income on gross rent.
How does Best Neighborhoods USA score Lincoln Square?
The overall index combines 40% Stability and Strength, 35% Value Opportunity, and 25% Momentum. Race, ethnicity, and identity composition are not scoring components.
Governed ranking context
How this neighborhood ranks
HMDA Mortgage Intelligence
Neighborhood Mortgage Market
Modeled neighborhood-level mortgage activity allocated from governed HMDA tract data using Zillow neighborhood geometry. These neighborhood values are nonadditive and do not enter the Best Neighborhoods USA Index.
Activity year2024
Estimated applications100
Estimated originations65
Home-purchase applications65
Origination rate64.9%
Home-purchase share65.1%
Average application loan$571,442
Total application loan amount$56,969,140
National application rank#4,362 of 14,874 rankable neighborhoods
Geometry coverage100.0%
Recent trend: Applications -10.6% YoY; originations -0.2% YoY
Mortgage methodology
HMDA is natively reported at tract and other lender-reporting geographies, not Zillow neighborhood or ZIP geography. This module uses the certified NDS HMDA-to-Zillow tract-vintage crosswalk and area-weighted allocation. Rankings require governed geometry coverage. Applicant demographics are excluded. Neighborhood values may overlap and must not be summed to reconstruct ZIP or national totals.