Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Calumet City earns a D, ranked 733rd of 767 in Illinois, mostly because of schools and health. Its public schools trail 89% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 81% of the country. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Calumet City, above both Illinois’ towns (8.4%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 69 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score lower on civic life. The biggest park or preserve is Camp Shabbona Woods, at 231 acres.
Where Calumet City beats most towns.
Where Calumet City’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 Calumet City is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for schools (better than 11%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,935 in 1900, 36,033 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 8 maps from 1892 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Calumet City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw13 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw20 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 Calumet City, 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 Calumet City.
Calumet City is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
At 1.7 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $155K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living. 63.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 47.9% across Illinois.
The typical Calumet City home is worth about $155,000, down 1.7% in a year, 48% below the Illinois typical home. 56% of households own their home in Calumet City.
| Calumet City | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,177 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Calumet City | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.8% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
| 2. Camp Shabbona Woods | 0.1 mi | 231 |
| 3. Wentworth Woods | — | 111 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 7,531 U.S. towns with household incomes like Calumet City’s, it is less healthy than 65%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
45% of Calumet City adults sleep under 7 hours. Calumet City beats the Illinois average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 14% of Calumet City adults binge drink.
| Calumet City | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 35% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 12% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Calumet City | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 7.6% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 14.2% | 17.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 18.7% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 7,831 in 2013 to 5,774.
Most working residents leave Calumet City for work: only 4% work in town. The average trip to work in Calumet City is 34 minutes. Since 2013, Calumet City has lost 2,057 jobs, to 5,774 in 2023.
| Calumet City | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Work from home | 9.8% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
380 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 28 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 380 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Calumet City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Calumet City 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
21 within 15 miles of the center of Calumet City
About 5 of every 100 Calumet City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
4 notable people were born in Calumet City.
City in Illinois, United States
Calumet City ( KAL-yuu-MET) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census. It is a south suburb in the Chicago metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Calumet City.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calumet City | #733 | D | C+ | — | D | C− |
| Lansing | #668 | C− | C+ | C− | C− | B− |
| South Holland | #743 | D | C− | C− | D | C+ |
| Burnham | #700 | D | B− | — | C− | C− |
| Dolton | #757 | D− | C | — | D | C− |
Calumet City, Burnham and Dolton report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Calumet City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Calumet City grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #733 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
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 C+.
4 notable people were born here, including Tink and Mike Tomczak.
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