Nextdoor Names Chicago's Friendliest Neighborhoods for 2026

A South Side community takes the top spot in the ranking based on positive neighbor interactions.

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Nextdoor, a neighborhood-based social platform, has released its 2026 rankings of Chicago's friendliest neighborhoods. The top five communities are Kenwood, Bronzeville, Ashburn, Edgebrook, and Mayfair. The rankings are based on an analysis of positive neighbor interactions on the Nextdoor platform, including posts with a positive tone, fulfilled requests for help or recommendations, expressions of neighborhood pride, and more.

Why it matters

As people consider where to live in Chicago, understanding the true sense of community in a neighborhood is an important factor. Nextdoor's data provides unique insights into the traits that make certain communities thrive based on real neighbor interactions.

The details

Nextdoor's "Friendliness Score" functions as an index, giving the top-ranked neighborhood a score of 100 and ranking others in comparison. The factors analyzed include posts with a positive or negative tone, fulfilled neighbor requests, expressions of neighborhood pride or dissatisfaction, free items shared, welcome posts that receive responses, and neighbors promoting local businesses.

  • Nextdoor released its 2026 rankings on March 5, 2026.

The players

Nextdoor

A neighborhood-based social platform that analyzed data on positive neighbor interactions to determine the friendliest neighborhoods in Chicago.

Kelsey Grady

Nextdoor's chief communications officer, who stated that the rankings provide insights into the traits that make communities truly thrive.

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What they’re saying

“When people are considering where to live in Chicago, they want to know more than just the statistics—they want to understand what it's really like to be part of that community.”

— Kelsey Grady, Chief Communications Officer, Nextdoor (fox32chicago.com)

“Nextdoor is uniquely positioned to analyze neighborhoods based on real neighbor interactions to shed light on traits that make communities truly thrive.”

— Kelsey Grady, Chief Communications Officer, Nextdoor (fox32chicago.com)

The takeaway

This ranking highlights the importance of a strong sense of community and positive neighbor interactions in making a neighborhood an appealing place to live. The data from Nextdoor provides valuable insights for both current and prospective residents of Chicago.