North Center is the geographic center of the intersection of Lincoln Avenue, Irving Park Road, and Damen Avenue. The Chicago neighborhood is built on strong family values and has both good schools and economic stability. There is also an abundance of bowling alleys, diners, and nostalgic storefronts, although the area is enjoying an influx of new interest and, as such, new businesses. The exact boundaries of North Center are becoming a matter of some debate, however, as most residents will tend to identify their street as belonging to any one of the several other neighborhoods that surround this smallish Chicago community.

North Center boasts commerce, dining, shopping and clubs along its major streets while enjoying quiet, tree-lined streets everywhere else. Many home buyers who are unable to find acceptable real estate in the more popular neighborhoods to the east, Lakeview or Lincoln Park, are opting to go just a little further west.

A Catholic school on Leavitt Street named St. Benedict's lent its name to a sub-neighborhood of North Center, St. Ben's, an increasingly popular destination for young professionals, but also a family-centric community focused heavily on its children.

The El Brown Line stops at Addison, Irving Park and Montrose, and CTA busses run on most of the major streets in the neighborhood.