Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Berwyn's standout: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C+, ranked 522nd of 767 in Illinois. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 74% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. Only 37 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score lower on civic life. Berwyn's schools rank behind 78% of the state's. On history, just 95 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better.
Where Berwyn beats most towns.
Arthur J. Dunham House
Census counts: 5,841 in 1910, 57,250 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 8 maps from 1891 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Berwyn is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berwyn. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw11 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw9 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearSoldier 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Berwyn, 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 Berwyn.
Berwyn has seen reported crime fall by a third or more, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
| Berwyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Proksa Park | 1 mi | 14 |
| 2. Janura Park | 0.3 mi | 8 |
| 3. Baseball Alley | 0.2 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here fell from 10,722 in 2013 to 8,246.
Most working residents leave Berwyn for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Berwyn fell to 8,246 in 2023, 2,476 fewer than in 2013. Berwyn’s average trip to work is 29 minutes, against 26 minutes in Illinois’ towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns.
| Berwyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 2019, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Berwyn.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 469 to 295 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 21 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Berwyn’s property crime rate is 5 per 1,000 residents, below both Illinois’ towns (7.9) and U.S. towns (9.9).
| Berwyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Berwyn beats the Illinois average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 19% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Berwyn.
| Berwyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 35% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Berwyn | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 19.2% | 24.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 19% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Berwyn has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Berwyn home is worth about $318,000, up 6% in a year, 7% above the Illinois typical home. 61% of Berwyn households own their home.
| Berwyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,215 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
56 within 15 miles of the center of Berwyn
About 6 of every 100 Berwyn residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Where Berwyn’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Berwyn on the National Register of Historic Places.
36 notable people were born in Berwyn.
City in Illinois, United States
Berwyn () is a suburban city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is coterminous with Berwyn Township, which was formed in 1908 after breaking off from Cicero Township. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 57,250. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Berwyn.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwyn · Berwyn Township | #522 | C+ | C− | B+ | C− | B+ |
| Cicero | #662 | C− | C+ | C+ | D | C+ |
| North Riverside | #439 | B | C | D | A | B+ |
| Proviso Township | #512 | C+ | C | — | C | B+ |
| Riverside Township | #74 | A | D | — | A | A |
Proviso Township and Riverside Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Berwyn Township and Berwyn are one community, graded once. Compare Berwyn with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Berwyn grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #522 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and C− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. That is 3.5 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−.
36 notable people were born here, including Bob Odenkirk and Brian Gutiérrez.
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