Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 42,288, settled in 1857.
Crystal Lake grades A− overall, 232nd of 767 graded towns in Illinois, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 85% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $108K. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 71% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $382K for a typical one and 4.2 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. On hazard risk, just 101 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. Crystal Lake’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, above both the Illinois town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On the outdoors, just 57 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better.
Where Crystal Lake beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Crystal Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 546 in 1880, 40,269 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1970 and 6 maps from 1925 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Crystal Lake, 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 Crystal Lake.
Crystal Lake trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors, but it reports more crime than Prairie Grove and its other graded neighbors.
That puts Crystal Lake above both Illinois’ towns (3.6%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). 20 miles of trail in 31 parks and preserves. Three Oaks Recreation Area, at 484 acres with 2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sterne's Woods Park | 4.8 mi | 109 |
| 2. Veteran Acres Park | 3.2 mi | 118 |
| 3. Three Oaks Recreation Area | 2 mi | 484 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Crystal Lake. Crystal Lake beats the Illinois average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 19% of adults binge drink in Crystal Lake.
| Crystal Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Crystal Lake | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.8% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.5% | 13.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Crystal Lake.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Crystal Lake’s median rent is $1,468 a month. The typical Crystal Lake home is worth about $382,000, up 4.4% in a year, 29% above the Illinois typical home.
| Crystal Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,468 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Crystal Lake has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Crystal Lake is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Crystal Lake has about as many jobs (19,265) as working residents, but only 2,804 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Crystal Lake for work: only 14% work in town. Since 2013, Crystal Lake has added 1,138 jobs, to 19,265 in 2023. 15% of Crystal Lake workers work from home.
| Crystal Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $108,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 11% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Crystal Lake is safe by national standards, yet each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Prairie Grove (B+) to Lakewood (A+). At 14.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 55% of Illinois’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Illinois average. Crystal Lake has grown 5% since 2020, to 42,288 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 42% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Crystal Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.3 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.7, men 38.6.
| Crystal Lake | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.1% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.3% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.3% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.1% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.6% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.1% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.7% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.5% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.9% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.2% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Crystal Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw22 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
28 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
10 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
26 mi MuseumMcDonald's #1 Store Museum
38 mi Zoo & aquariumBrookfield ZooWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · McDonald's #1 Store Museum: Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Brookfield Zoo: Ronincmc, CC BY-SA 4.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Crystal Lake
About 5 of every 100 Crystal Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
9.7% of the town is conserved land, across 31 parks and preserves.
16 notable people were born in Crystal Lake.
City in Illinois, United States
Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. Named after a lake 1.6 miles (2.6 km) southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Chicago. The population was 40,269 as of the 2020 census. Crystal Lake is the most populous city in McHenry County, part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Crystal Lake.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Lake | #232 | A− | C | B | B+ | A |
| Lake in the Hills | #180 | A− | C− | A | B+ | A |
| Prairie Grove | — | — | C− | B+ | B+ | A |
| Lakewood | #29 | A+ | C | A+ | B+ | A |
| Ridgefield | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cary | #79 | A | C− | A | A− | A |
| Grafton Township | #260 | A− | C− | — | A− | A− |
| Dorr Township | #138 | A | C | — | A− | B+ |
Prairie Grove has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Grafton Township and Dorr Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Ridgefield isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Crystal Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Crystal Lake grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #232 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, B for safety and B+ 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.
16 notable people were born here, including Todd Alcott and George W. Lindberg.
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