Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,260, settled in 1960. A regional job hub with 6,110 jobs.
Countryside grades A− overall, 272nd among Illinois's 767 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 92% of Illinois towns and it is healthier than 89% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $81K. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: it reports more crime per resident than 71% of U.S. towns, including 6 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. A typical home there costs about $382K, 4.2 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Countryside’s trail density is 2.5 miles per square mile, above both Illinois’ towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 87 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on hazard risk. The biggest place to walk is Arie Crown Forest, 392 acres with 4.1 miles of trail.
Where Countryside beats most towns.
1.5% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Countryside is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,864 in 1970, 6,420 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1962 and 8 maps from 1891 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Countryside. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw15 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw15 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 Countryside, 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 Countryside.
Countryside carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Illinois (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Chicago and beyond and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Arie Crown Forest | 4.1 mi | 392 |
| 2. Countryside Park | 0.6 mi | 11 |
| 3. Ideal Park | 0.5 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
6,110 jobs are based in Countryside, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Countryside for work: only 4% work in town. 19% of Countryside workers work from home, above both the Illinois town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (11%). The top destinations are Chicago (27%), La Grange (4%) and Downers Grove (3%).
| Countryside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 11% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
28% of Countryside adults have obesity. Countryside beats the Illinois average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of Countryside adults binge drink.
| Countryside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Countryside | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.6% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.1% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 97% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $567 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Countryside is 12 of 100. Since 1979, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Countryside.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical home values rose 8.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Countryside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 72% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,180 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 184 to 114 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Countryside’s property crime rate is 17.4 per 1,000 residents. Countryside reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 71% report less.
| Countryside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Countryside 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
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (23% statewide). 37% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Countryside. Countryside has lost 2.7% of its people since 2020, down to 6,260 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Countryside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 29% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Countryside | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.7% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.7% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.5% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.6% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.1% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.9% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.1% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
49 within 15 miles of the center of Countryside
About 5 of every 100 Countryside residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Where Countryside’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Illinois, United States
Countryside is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,420.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Countryside.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its A−; Indian Head Park (A) is closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countryside | #272 | A− | C | C | A | A |
| Hodgkins | — | — | B | D− | A | B |
| La Grange | #42 | A+ | C− | B | A | A+ |
| Indian Head Park | #128 | A | C− | — | A | A+ |
| Burr Ridge | #80 | A | D− | A− | A | A |
Hodgkins has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Indian Head Park reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Countryside with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Countryside grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #272 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, C for safety and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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