Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Brookfield is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, ranked 18th of 767 in Illinois. The median household earns $110K, residents are healthier than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and its public schools beat 90% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $360K for a typical one and 4 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Brookfield is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Grossdale Station is on the National Register of Historic Places. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 87% of U.S. towns.
Where Brookfield beats most towns.
Where Brookfield’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 Brookfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,111 in 1900, 19,476 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 8 maps from 1891 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brookfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw14 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw12 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 Brookfield, 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 Brookfield.
Brookfield reports less crime than La Grange Park or any other graded neighbor, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims and has property taxes 1.5 times the Illinois norm.
27% of adults have high blood pressure in Brookfield, below both the Illinois town median (35%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 29% of Brookfield adults have obesity. Brookfield beats the Illinois average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Brookfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Brookfield | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.9% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.2% | 15.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 21% | 17.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; La Grange Park (A−) comes closest. Reported crimes rose from 10 to 107 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Brookfield’s violent crime rate is 0.5 per 1,000 residents, where Illinois’ towns sit at 1 and U.S. towns at 1.6. The property crime rate in Brookfield is 5.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Brookfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.7 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Brookfield Woods Preserve, at 122 acres.
| Brookfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.7% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ehlert Park | 0.6 mi | 34 |
| 2. Brookfield Woods Preserve | 0.1 mi | 122 |
| 3. McCormick Woods Preserve | 0.2 mi | 76 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Brookfield for work: only 4% work in town. Brookfield’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. Jobs based in Brookfield fell to 3,278 in 2023, 247 fewer than in 2013.
| Brookfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $110,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median property tax bill is $8,049, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 8.3% in the year to September 2026. 82% of households own their home in Brookfield.
| Brookfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,414 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Brookfield has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (39% statewide). Brookfield has lost 3.3% of its people since 2020, down to 18,879 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 42% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Brookfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 41.6 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.8 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.2, men 41.2.
| Brookfield | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.6% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.7% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.1% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.8% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.5% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.5% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.6% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.3% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
61 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 61 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brookfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
56 within 15 miles of the center of Brookfield
About 4 of every 100 Brookfield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
6 notable people were born in Brookfield.
Village in Illinois, United States
Brookfield (formerly Grossdale) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located 13 miles (21 km) west of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,476. The city is home to the Brookfield Zoo.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Brookfield.
At #18 in IL, it grades higher overall than all 6 graded towns on its borders; La Grange Park (A+) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield | #18 | A+ | C− | A | A | A |
| Lyons | #618 | C | C | — | D | B |
| La Grange Park | #22 | A+ | D | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Riverside | #23 | A+ | C− | B+ | A | A+ |
| North Riverside | #439 | B | C | D | A | B+ |
| Riverside Township | #74 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Lyons Township | #219 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
Lyons, Riverside Township and Lyons Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Brookfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Brookfield grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #18 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−.
6 notable people were born here, including Michael Colgrass and Lou Saban.
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