Gentrification Index

The Socioeconomic Change of Chicago’s Community Areas, also known as the Gentrification Index, examines neighborhood change across Chicago from 1970 to 2010. It uses key indicators to measure how much a neighborhood's wealth or poverty has changed in this time.

Map of Chicago showing the 9 categories of neighborhood change outlined in the report
The Community Typology shows neighborhood change based on community area scores from 1970 to 2010. Some neighborhoods are stable and did not change. Others increased in socioeconomic status, while many decreased in socioeconomic status.

The Socioeconomic Change of Chicago’s Community Areas (1970-2010) shows that inequality is growing in Chicago. Some neighborhoods have grown wealthier, while others have grown poorer. At the same time, the number of middle-class neighborhoods has gone down.

An Appendix, showing the detailed information for each community area, is also available.

For information about how to mitigate the impact of gentrification, check out the toolkit.

To see presentations for the 2015 Voorhees Center symposium called Taking Control of our Neighborhoods’ Future, look here.

Questions? Try the Gentrification FAQ.

For more, see WBEZ’s interactive website on gentrification here.

Report Summary: English, Español