Chicago's Baby Booming Neighborhoods

Gage Park is booming... with babies.

The Southwest Side neighborhood reigned as the city neighborhood with the highest birth rate throughout much of the 21st century, according to data released Thursday in the a Data Portal through the Chicago Department of Public Health.

The data shows the number of births and subsequent birth rates from 1999 to 2009 for each of Chicago's neighborhoods.

Gage Park ranked as the top infant birthing area for eight out of the 10 years, but North Center came in as an upset for 2009 with 22.4 births per 1,000 people. 

If you’re planning to have kids, the Loop may not be the best choice for you. While the area is booming with bars and nightlife, it’s not booming with babies as the neighborhood clocked the lowest birth rate for each of the 10 years in the survey.

Overall births in Chicago dropped during the 10-year survey, with the city recording 50,534 births in 1999 and only 44,441 in 2009, according to the study.

Here are the neighborhoods with the top 10 birth rates for 2009:

1. North Center

2. Gage Park

3. New City

4. Near South Side

5. West Elsdon

6. North Lawndale

7. Brighton Park

8. Hermosa

9. West Englewood

10. Chicago Lawn

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