IL 77 I90 NARA 1961 184, 1961
Bellwood’s story
126 years in pictures
Census counts: 943 in 1910, 18,789 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1961 and 8 maps from 1891 on.
- 1900Bellwood is incorporated
Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
18,116
2025 Census estimate · −3.6% since 2020
Typical home
$258K
+6.2% in a year
Household income
$80K
median
Median age
38.7
years
Jobs based here
3,204
A commuter town
TownGrade
C−
#682 of 767 in IL
Is Bellwood a good place to live?
Bellwood grades C− overall, ranked 682nd of 767 in Illinois, mostly because of schools. Its public schools trail 87% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Only 83 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on hazard risk.
What makes Bellwood stand out
Where Bellwood beats most towns.
A commuter town
97% of working residents leave Bellwood for work
Where Bellwood’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
3,204jobs based in Bellwood
3%of working residents work in town
10 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Bellwood grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Bellwood is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for schools (better than 13%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 14.9 of 20; 7% of households have no carA+Open →SchoolsDOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →Cost of livingCOpen →HealthLess healthy than 65% of U.S. towns; Loyola Gottlieb Memorial Hospital 2.4 miles awayC+Open →SafetyC+Open →Jobs & income$80K median household incomeBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trail; 2% conserved landB−Open →HistoryIncorporated 1900; 5 notable people born hereC−Open →Civic life2.3 library visits per resident; 3.1 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsDOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market77 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 38.7; 17% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 170 attractions →Soldier Field and 153 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bellwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw16 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw13 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Bellwood: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bellwood, and how to reach them.
PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterBellwood water system1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpBy addressDay by addressTown site
SchoolsProviso Township High School District 209Bellwood School District 882 districts serve Bellwood; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereCook County ClerkCook County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Apr 2026
ZIP code6010460104 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Bellwood.
Bellwood has seen reported crime fall by a third or more, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Illinois (mostly inland flooding).
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Bellwood faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $612 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 1,127 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 246 properties have flooded more than once.
Households in Bellwood have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. Its risk rating from FEMA is 80 of 100. Paid flood insurance claims here since 1982: 1,127. FEMA puts 57% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 23% to cold waves.
80risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
1,127
paid flood claims since 1982
8
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Bellwood’s workers commute out
Only 3% of working residents stay in Bellwood for work; the rest commute out. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Bellwood dropped by 578, to 3,204. For residents here, the share who live below the poverty line is 12%. Its average trip to work is 28 minutes, against 26 minutes in Illinois’ towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns.
3%work in town
| Bellwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 8.9% | 11% | 11% |
Where working residents work
In Bellwood3%
Chicago30%
Melrose Park3%
Maywood3%
Elk Grove Village2%
10 mi
median commute distance
3,204
jobs based in Bellwood
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
A+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Bellwood
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 17°, and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
42″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–35°
Spring39–59°
Summer62–82°
Fall43–62°
Oct 28
typical first frost
Apr 16
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthC+
Compared with most of Illinois and the rest of the country, more of Bellwood’s adults sleep under 7 hours
Among adults in Bellwood, 39% feel lonely. The share of adults in Bellwood who get no exercise outside work is 29%, where Illinois’ towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 25%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Bellwood is ahead of Illinois on 3 and behind on 17.
35%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Bellwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 35% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 12% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
3 better12 too close to call17 worse
| What stands out | Bellwood | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.9% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with depression | 16.8% | 19.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.3% | 7.8% |
Loyola Gottlieb Memorial Hospital
2.4 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
21st
percentile among IL towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
SafetyC+
More crime per resident in Bellwood than in 62% of U.S. towns
Reported crimes fell from 334 to 232 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent offense rate for Bellwood comes to 2.6 per 1,000 residents. The property crime rate for Bellwood comes to 10.3 per 1,000 residents.
38%of U.S. towns report more crimeC+Safety Grade
| Bellwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Bellwood2.6
Illinois2.6
U.S.3.3
Property crime per 1,000 residents
Bellwood10.3
Illinois15.6
U.S.15.5
38th
percentile among U.S. towns we grade
30th
percentile among IL towns
47
violent crimes reported in 2025
185
property crimes reported in 2025
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
HousingCost of living grade C
Bellwood’s typical home value is about $258K
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 6.2%. A home in Bellwood typically sold within 77 days of listing. 44% of the homes sold in Bellwood went for more than their asking price.
$258KZillow home value
| Bellwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 78% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,293 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Bellwood$258K
Illinois$296K
Market temperature
77
days on market
97.4%
sale-to-list price
+6.2%
value change, 1 year
9
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
OutdoorsB−
1.9% of Bellwood is conserved land
In 5 parks and preserves, walkers have 0.5 miles of trail. The concentration of trails in Bellwood is 0.2 miles per square mile.
1.9%conserved
| Bellwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
1.9%
conserved · 29 of 1,525 acres
0.5 mi
of trails · 0.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stevenson Park | 0.2 mi | 12 |
| 2. Eisenhower Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Babe Ruth Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Bellwood
20pages on Bellwood
The big questions
SchoolsDBehind 87% of IL districtsSafetyC+2.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents (2025)HealthC+Better than IL on 3 of 32 CDC measuresCost of livingC$258K typical home · up 6.2% in a yearWork & commuteB$80K median household income · 3,204 jobs hereNatural hazardsDFEMA risk higher than 80% of U.S. communities · inland flooding
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
50 within 15 miles of the center of Bellwood
Triton CollegeCommunity college · Public · River Grove2.9 mi$5,070 in-state tuitionDominican UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · River Forest3.1 mi$38,978 tuitionNortheastern Illinois UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Chicago10.5 mi$12,383 in-state tuition
About 5 of every 100 Bellwood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Famous people from Bellwood
5 notable people were born in Bellwood.
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About Bellwood
Village in Illinois, United States
Bellwood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located 13 miles (21 km) west of Chicago's downtown Loop, the Village of Bellwood is bounded by the Eisenhower Expressway (south), the Proviso yards of the former Chicago & Northwestern, now Union Pacific Railroad (north), and the suburbs of Maywood (east) and Hillside and Berkeley (west). The population was 18,789 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.4 sq mi
- ZIP code
- 60104
- Area code
- 708
Bellwood’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Bellwood.
HillsideBerkeleyMelrose ParkMaywoodWestchesterBellwood
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellwood | #682 | C− | C | C+ | D | C+ |
| Hillside | #559 | C+ | C | C | C | B |
| Berkeley | #561 | C+ | C− | B+ | C− | B |
| Melrose Park | #670 | C− | C | C | C− | C+ |
| Maywood | #714 | D | C | — | C− | C− |
| Westchester | #264 | A− | C− | A | C+ | A |
Maywood reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Bellwood with a neighbor →
Questions about Bellwood
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bellwood, IL a good place to live?
Bellwood grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #682 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Bellwood, IL expensive?
That is 2.8 years of the area's median household income ($90,887 across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
What is Bellwood, IL known for?
Bellwood was incorporated in 1900. 5 notable people were born here, including Robert Covington and Demetri McCamey.