Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,919, settled in 1890.
Burnham grades D overall, 700th of 767 graded towns in Illinois, mostly because of schools and health. Its schools rank behind 84% of the state's. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 79% of the country. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 96% of U.S. towns. Burnham’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, above both Illinois’ towns (26 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Only 12 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score lower on civic life. The biggest park or preserve is Burnham Prairie, at 144 acres.
Where Burnham beats most towns.
Where Burnham’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 Burnham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 328 in 1910, 4,046 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1982 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Burnham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw10 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw17 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearSoldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · 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 Burnham, 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 Burnham.
Burnham has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has commutes longer than most of Illinois.
At 1.7 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $151K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. 60.2% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 47.9% across Illinois.
The typical Burnham home is worth about $151,000, about the same as a year ago, 49% below the Illinois typical home. 58% of households own their home in Burnham.
| Burnham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,208 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
33% of Burnham adults worry about having enough food. Burnham beats the Illinois average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 44% of Burnham adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Burnham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 35% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Burnham | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 7.6% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 15.1% | 17.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.7% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 1,413 working residents takes 36.9 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois. Jobs based here grew from 501 in 2013 to 688.
Most working residents leave Burnham for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Burnham has added 187 jobs, to 688 in 2023. The median household income in Burnham is $58,000.
| Burnham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Burnham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Burnham has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.7 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Burnham Prairie | — | 144 |
| 2. Powderhorn Prairie and Marsh Nature Preserve | — | 63 |
| 3. Burnham Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Burnham's reported crime rate is below Illinois's. Burnham’s violent crime rate is 2.3 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Burnham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.6 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
23 within 15 miles of the center of Burnham
About 3 of every 100 Burnham residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Burnham is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,046 at the 2020 census. Burnham has a Chicago ZIP code (60633) and was named for Telford Burnham, who drew its plat. There are two sections of Burnham. The westernmost section surrounds Torrence Avenue, a north–south street. Torrence Avenue leaves this part of Burnham via a bridge, with Chicago on the other side. The eastern section surrounds Burnham Avenue, another north–south street. This section of Burnham ends at Brainard Avenue, where the Hegewisch neighborhood of Chicago lies on the other side. Upon entering Chicago, Burnham Avenue becomes Avenue O.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Burnham.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnham | #700 | D | B− | — | C− | C− |
| Thornton Township | #693 | D | C+ | — | C− | C |
| Chicago | #676 | C− | C− | D | C | B+ |
| Calumet City | #733 | D | C+ | — | D | C− |
Burnham, Thornton Township and Calumet City report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Burnham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Burnham grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #700 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 1.7 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 B−.
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