The 10 Worst Aurora Suburbs For 2023


We used data and Friday Night Science to identify the worst suburbs of Aurora for 2023. The worst Aurora suburbs are Rockdale and Sheridan.

The suburbs of Aurora call to all types of people looking to escape city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Aurora to avoid all the hustle and bustle.

So the question arises: do the suburbs maintain a semblance of the larger-than-life appeal of their more famous neighbor?

Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Aurora ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Aurora area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Aurora proper, although Western Springs certainly tries.

Of course, not all suburbs of Aurora are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones.

We examined the 143 biggest suburbs of Aurora to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Illinois lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Aurora in terms of quality of life.

The 10 worst suburbs around Aurora for 2023

  1. Rockdale
  2. Sheridan
  3. Maywood
  4. DeKalb
  5. Worth
  6. Summit
  7. Bridgeview
  8. Northlake
  9. Justice
  10. Stone Park

Now don’t freak out.

What’s the worst suburb of Aurora? Rockdale ranks as the worst suburb of Aurora for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Aurora that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.

Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Illinois check out the best places in Illinois overall or the worst.

And remember, there are some good places to live around Aurora too.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


For more Illinois reading, check out:

The 10 Worst Aurora Suburbs To Live For 2023

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,476
Median Income: $44,915 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $140,200 (2nd lowest)
More on Rockdale:

We’ll get the ball rolling with Rockdale, the absolute worst place to live around Aurora according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Rockdale beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Aurora area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.

But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Rockdale.

You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,744
Median Income: $73,029 (39th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (24th highest)
Median Home Value: $156,900 (3rd lowest)
More on Sheridan:

Welcome to Sheridan. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.

This city is 25.8 miles to Aurora. Income levels here are the 39th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $73,029 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.

But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.

Maywood, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Boscophotos | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 23,547
Median Income: $58,764 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.1% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $166,500 (5th lowest)
More on Maywood:

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Aurora suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Maywood on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.

In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Aurora suburbs.

But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.

Dekalb, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 41,083
Median Income: $45,591 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 11.3% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $171,100 (8th lowest)
More on Dekalb:

If you live in DeKalb, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 2nd lowest Aurora suburb for median household incomes.

Not only that, but this is the 3rd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Aurora. Remember, we looked at 143 cities for this study.

DeKalb is about 26.2 miles to downtown.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,909
Median Income: $54,071 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.3% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $184,000 (16th lowest)
More on Worth:

Worth has the distinction of being a Aurora suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, Worth has the 16th lowest home values in the metro Aurora area, where the median price is $184,000. The median income is $224,185.

Worth has an unemployment rate of 10.3% which ranks 5th worst.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,098
Median Income: $48,929 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (37th highest)
Median Home Value: $192,800 (22nd lowest)
More on Summit:

Summit has 11,098 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)

Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 13.799963827093508%.

Bridgeview, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Khateeb88 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 16,883
Median Income: $58,371 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (23rd highest)
Median Home Value: $202,400 (30th lowest)
More on Bridgeview:

Ah, Bridgeview. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Aurora.

It’s the place with the 23rd most out of work residents in the Aurora metro area (6.77%).

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 12,836
Median Income: $64,792 (2lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (33rd highest)
Median Home Value: $201,900 (29th lowest)
More on Northlake:

Northlake is a city about 22.4 miles from Aurora, but Aurora probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb for 2018.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Northlake has the 12th most uninsured people, 2worst incomes, and has the 33rd highest unemployment rate (5.95%) in the entire Aurora metro area.

Homes only cost $201,900 for a reason. That’s cheap for Aurora standards.

Justice, IL

Source: Wikipedia User MrHarman at en.wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 12,625
Median Income: $57,045 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (35th highest)
Median Home Value: $194,900 (24th lowest)
More on Justice:

If you absolutely have to live near Aurora, then Justice might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Aurora suburb.

About 5.87% of residents are out of work.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 4,611
Median Income: $68,268 (28th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (17th highest)
Median Home Value: $191,700 (2lowest)
More on Stone Park:

Rounding out the ten worst Aurora suburbs to call home is Stone Park.

Located 23.2 miles outside the city, Stone Parks is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 17th highest unemployment rate (7.4%), and poverty is far above the area average.

Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Aurora for 2023

To figure out how bad a Aurora suburb is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.

It’s Saturday Night Science.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2017-2021, this is the criteria we used:

  • High unemployment rate
  • Low median household incomes
  • Low population density (no things to do)
  • Low home values
  • A lot of high school dropouts
  • High poverty
  • High rate of uninsured families

We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Aurora.

We also limited the analysis to places with over 1,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 143 suburbs to evaluate around Aurora.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 143 in each category, where 1 was the “worst.”

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Aurora.” We’re looking at you, Rockdale.

We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Aurora.

Summary: The areas around Aurora where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023

Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Aurora with Rockdale casting itself ahead of the pack.

As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Aurora aren’t all bad. Western Springs takes the cake as the best place to live around Aurora.

  • Western Springs
  • Hinsdale
  • La Grange

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Aurora Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Values
1 Rockdale 2,476 $44,915 $140,200
2 Sheridan 2,744 $73,029 $156,900
3 Maywood 23,547 $58,764 $166,500
4 Dekalb 41,083 $45,591 $171,100
5 Worth 10,909 $54,071 $184,000
6 Summit 11,098 $48,929 $192,800
7 Bridgeview 16,883 $58,371 $202,400
8 Northlake 12,836 $64,792 $201,900
9 Justice 12,625 $57,045 $194,900
10 Stone Park 4,611 $68,268 $191,700
11 West Chicago 25,881 $83,379 $254,700
12 Alsip 19,036 $59,123 $172,000
13 Crest Hill 20,305 $63,172 $181,000
14 Melrose Park 25,417 $58,871 $222,700
15 Carpentersville 37,940 $73,121 $184,500
16 Broadview 7,997 $56,798 $177,800
17 Franklin Park 18,435 $70,221 $220,800
18 Joliet 150,323 $77,373 $204,800
19 Elgin 114,156 $79,757 $206,800
20 Hillside 8,286 $62,224 $196,600
21 Bellwood 18,778 $66,517 $174,500
22 Plano 10,885 $82,883 $173,300
23 Burbank 29,312 $73,466 $215,800
24 Cicero 84,905 $58,433 $190,500
25 Crestwood 10,908 $65,074 $165,200
26 Bensenville 18,801 $68,532 $227,000
27 Countryside 6,354 $74,750 $269,200
28 Hometown 4,324 $52,639 $132,200
29 Hanover Park 37,545 $80,535 $215,900
30 Lyons 10,665 $67,807 $195,400
31 Berwyn 56,960 $64,965 $244,500
32 Schiller Park 11,680 $59,420 $230,400
33 Chicago Ridge 14,413 $56,494 $171,000
34 Romeoville 40,099 $88,205 $201,300
35 Palos Hills 18,379 $72,570 $206,100
36 River Grove 10,571 $65,625 $216,800
37 Rosemont 4,027 $62,148 $374,700
38 Oak Lawn 58,032 $70,787 $222,400
39 Hinckley 2,228 $75,500 $225,900
40 Hickory Hills 14,483 $69,072 $247,400
41 Addison 35,999 $75,960 $271,500
42 Stickney 7,074 $61,507 $195,200
43 East Dundee 3,117 $71,795 $230,100
44 Cortland 4,436 $72,431 $167,900
45 Warrenville 13,738 $89,010 $235,200
46 Elwood 2,500 $76,339 $181,700
47 Glendale Heights 33,443 $77,582 $208,700
48 Morris 14,601 $65,911 $194,600
49 Rolling Meadows 24,300 $81,601 $254,600
50 Wood Dale 14,034 $80,079 $247,500
51 North Aurora 17,892 $88,727 $262,000
52 Bolingbrook 73,807 $97,371 $242,600
53 Des Plaines 60,413 $79,453 $273,300
54 Montgomery 20,084 $100,911 $234,000
55 Sandwich 7,182 $75,115 $187,000
56 Forest Park 14,297 $72,827 $265,100
57 Sycamore 18,144 $73,475 $213,900
58 Oakbrook Terrace 2,681 $60,761 $333,300
59 Berkeley 5,314 $73,812 $185,200
60 Elmwood Park 24,517 $68,833 $278,300
61 Streamwood 39,736 $88,824 $216,400
62 Palatine 67,754 $86,415 $296,100
63 Orland Hills 6,914 $93,162 $218,600
64 Harwood Heights 8,978 $74,577 $297,000
65 North Riverside 7,382 $59,882 $263,500
66 Somonauk 1,757 $72,500 $181,900
67 Carol Stream 39,895 $95,342 $265,600
68 Bloomingdale 22,436 $87,324 $314,700
69 Oak Forest 27,445 $81,288 $211,700
70 Tinley Park 55,988 $87,864 $248,400
71 Lockport 26,070 $96,481 $256,400
72 Channahon 13,694 $105,156 $247,800
73 Norridge 15,294 $80,911 $313,900
74 Orland Park 58,622 $89,491 $296,600
75 Hoffman Estates 52,153 $96,274 $294,200
76 Hampshire 8,019 $97,927 $289,800
77 South Elgin 23,749 $112,115 $257,700
78 Westmont 24,632 $76,534 $317,300
79 Roselle 23,000 $94,589 $273,500
80 Woodridge 34,161 $91,399 $292,400
81 Villa Park 22,755 $85,173 $263,100
82 Lake In The Hills 29,024 $102,106 $247,400
83 Algonquin 29,869 $115,346 $273,600
84 Lombard 44,311 $89,079 $272,400
85 Schaumburg 78,053 $85,147 $272,500
86 Minooka 12,412 $105,905 $234,500
87 Willow Springs 5,874 $98,860 $301,300
88 Mount Prospect 56,510 $92,477 $336,300
89 West Dundee 7,797 $99,734 $299,800
90 Homer Glen 24,664 $120,306 $349,900
91 Yorkville 20,503 $105,129 $261,000
92 Westchester 16,837 $94,151 $257,500
93 Huntley 27,314 $76,612 $270,800
94 Darien 22,087 $104,226 $343,100
95 St. Charles 32,908 $106,069 $317,400
96 Indian Head Park 4,059 $93,398 $271,800
97 Lisle 23,982 $102,676 $368,700
98 Manhattan 9,366 $112,706 $258,600
99 Brookfield 19,517 $90,083 $276,200
100 Bartlett 41,126 $114,121 $292,100
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *