The two “safest and richest” suburbs in the country are in the Chicago area, according to a new ranking.
GOBankingRates’ report analyzed cities across the country using data points such as median household income, total population, total number of households, cost of living indices, crime rates and more, the editors wrote.
On this basis, the editors have compiled a ranking of the 30 best suburbs.
Overall, most of the suburbs in the rankings were in either New Jersey, Massachusetts or California. However, the top five spots on the list were in the Chicago metropolitan area, with Cook County villages taking the 1st, 2nd and 5th spots.
Western Springs took first place on the list, according to GOBankingRates. The southwestern suburb between Hinsdale and La Grange has a population of 13,557, the median household income was $276,402, and the median value of a single-family home was $763,060.
Second on the list is Kenilworth, located on Chicago’s glitzy North Shore. According to the list, the median household income was significantly higher at $437,822, with the average value of a single-family home at $1,768,606.
Kenilworth also recently earned a spot in another GOBankingRates report from earlier this year, which listed America’s “wealthiest suburbs.”
Winnetka, a northern suburb next to Kenilworth, also made the list, coming in at number 5.
In Winnetka, the median household income was $458,988 and the median value of a single-family home was $1,623,361. This Chicago suburb is also home to the house featured in the movie Home Alone, which recently sold for more than $5 million.
Wilmette, a North Shore suburb that borders Kenilworth, ranked 17th on the list. According to the report, the average median household income in Wilmette was $273,718 and the average value of a single-family home was $909,173. Wilmette also landed on GOBankingRates’ 2024 report, which listed the “wealthiest suburbs” in the country.
Only one other Midwestern city made the list: Ottawa Hills, Ohio, which came in at number 6.
The full list of 30 can be found below:
- West 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
You can find the full GOBankingRates report here.
