Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Barrington earns an A+, 16th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 98% of the country, the median household earns $148K, and its public schools beat 88% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $637K, 7 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 68% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Barrington, above both the Illinois town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Barrington is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 92% of U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 112 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better.
Where Barrington beats most towns.
Where Barrington’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Barrington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 410 in 1880, 10,722 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 6 maps from 1923 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Barrington. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw38 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw18 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
16 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaRate FieldWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Barrington, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Barrington.
Barrington carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Illinois (mostly inland flooding) and draws workers from Chicago and beyond, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois.
At 7 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $637K) costs more against local pay than in 95% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Deer Park is next at $776K.
The typical Barrington home is worth about $637,000, up 8.6% in a year, about twice the Illinois typical home. Its typical rent comes in at $1,500 a month. Homes sold in Barrington spent a median 49 days on the market.
| Barrington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,500 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 6.8% of its 8,080 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
The share of adults in Barrington who worry about having enough food: 6.8%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Barrington is ahead of Illinois on 22 and behind on 1. Among adults locally, 27% have obesity and 7.4% smoke cigarettes.
| Barrington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 37% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Barrington | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.8% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.1% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
7,333 jobs are based in Barrington, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here fell from 9,338 in 2013 to 7,333.
For Barrington, the average commute is 31 minutes. Jobs based in the town fell to 7,333 in 2023, 2,005 fewer than in 2013. In Barrington, 4.6% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Chicago (17%), Schaumburg (6%) and Hoffman Estates (4%).
| Barrington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 34% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $148,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest park or preserve is Baker's Lake, at 204 acres. 1.8 miles of trail wind through 8 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Barrington: 8, covering 504 acres.
| Barrington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.3% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ron Beese Park | 0.8 mi | 41 |
| 2. Baker's Lake | 0.5 mi | 204 |
| 3. Baker's Lake Nature Preserve | 0.3 mi | 144 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 92% of Illinois towns; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
47% of Barrington’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 26%. The natural-hazard score from FEMA in the town is 18 of 100. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Barrington after 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
Barrington’s rate of thefts and burglaries is 5.7 per 1,000 residents. Its rate of reported violence comes in at 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Barrington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 15° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
9 within 15 miles of the center of Barrington
About 4 of every 100 Barrington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
4 places in Barrington on the National Register of Historic Places.
26 notable people were born in Barrington.
Village in Illinois, United States
Barrington is a village in Cook and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 10,722 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Barrington.
At #16 in IL, it grades higher overall than all 6 graded towns on its borders; Inverness (A+) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington | #16 | A+ | C− | A− | A | A+ |
| Barrington Hills | #77 | A | D− | A | A | A |
| Cuba Township | #171 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Ela Township | #34 | A+ | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Deer Park | #62 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Inverness | #28 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Barrington Township | #84 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Palatine Township | #203 | A− | D | — | A− | A+ |
Cuba Township, Ela Township, Deer Park, Barrington Township and Palatine Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Barrington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Barrington grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #16 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
26 notable people were born here, including Brian Dietzen and Kirk Cousins.
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