Highland Park Ranked Among Nation's Top Lakefront 'Beach Towns'

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — A comparison of lakeside communities across the country ranked one North Shore town among the top lakefront beach towns in the nation, well ahead of its northern neighbors. The personal finance website WalletHub ranked Highland Park as the fourth-best beach town on a lake to live in. It used a scoring system combining measures of affordability, quality of life, weather, health and education, public safety and the economy.

Highland Park ranked highest (No. 6) when it comes to safety, with low crime and high walkability. Its lowest ranking (No. 33) came in the category of "Weather", which includes water temperature and flood risk.

According to the report's methodology, WalletHub looked at 205 cities with populations between 10,000 and 150,000 and at least one beach listed on TripAdvisor. The comparison considered housing costs, the availability of waterfront homes and the quality of beaches, among other things. However, only 44 towns included in the comparison are located on lakes rather than the coast.

Three other Lake County towns were included in the rankings – Gages Lake, Waukegan and Zion – as well as several cities in southeastern Wisconsin. Gages Lake ranked ninth in affordability and seventh in economic health. Waukegan came in ranked No. 38 overall and Zion at No. 41 of 44 communities.

Waukegan and Zion tied for last place for the highest median annual property taxes of all the beach towns included in the report. Waukegan had the second lowest percentage of the population with insurance and Zion had the highest foreclosure rate.

Meanwhile, Highland Park had the highest housing costs of any community studied, along with the third-highest median household income, when adjusted for the cost of living. Highland Park also had the third fewest nightlife establishments per capita, according to the report.

Read full rankings from WalletHub "2018's Best Beach Towns to Live in" »