Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 19,642, settled in 1850.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Deerfield earns an A+, ranked 51st of 767 in Illinois. The median household earns $182K, on CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally, and its public schools beat 96% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $656K, 7.2 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 82% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Deerfield, above both Illinois’ towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). Deerfield is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. Only 82 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score higher on civic life.
Where Deerfield beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Deerfield | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.1% | 15.9% |
Where Deerfield’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 Deerfield is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 3%), so the A+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 476 in 1910, 19,196 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and 8 maps from 1900 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Deerfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw30 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
11 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaUnited CenterWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Deerfield, 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 Deerfield.
Deerfield draws workers from Chicago and beyond and has less food insecurity than most of Illinois, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois.
At 7.2 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $656K) costs more against local pay than in 96% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. 60.9% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 47.9% across Illinois.
Deerfield’s median rent is $2,482 a month. Typical home values rose 7.6% in the year to September 2026. 83% of Deerfield households own their home.
| Deerfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,482 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 83% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7.0 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. The trail density in Deerfield is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Deerfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Briarwood Park | 0.9 mi | 17 |
| 2. Woodland Park | 0.7 mi | 18 |
| 3. Maplewood Park | 0.7 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 5.1% of its 14,240 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
26% of adults feel lonely in Deerfield. Among 767 Illinois towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Deerfield. 12% of adults report frequent mental distress in Deerfield.
| Deerfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Deerfield | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.1% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.6% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
17,949 jobs are based in Deerfield, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here fell from 22,955 in 2013 to 17,949.
Most working residents leave Deerfield for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, Deerfield has lost 5,006 jobs, to 17,949 in 2023. The top destinations are Chicago (27%), Northbrook (6%) and Highland Park (4%).
| Deerfield | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $182,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.8% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
135 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 11 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 135 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Deerfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Deerfield has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
13 within 15 miles of the center of Deerfield
About 4 of every 100 Deerfield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
11 notable people were born in Deerfield.
Village in Illinois, United States
Deerfield is a village in Lake and Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A northern suburb of Chicago, Deerfield is located on the North Shore, about 28 miles (45 km) north of downtown Chicago. The population was 19,196 at the 2020 census. Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Baxter Healthcare, and Fortune Brands Home & Security. Deerfield is often listed among the wealthiest and highest-earning places in Illinois and the Midwest. According to the United States Census Bureau, the median household income in Deerfield was $185,762 in 2022.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Deerfield.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deerfield | #51 | A+ | D− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Highland Park | #57 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Northbrook | #61 | A | D | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Riverwoods | #8 | A+ | C− | A | A+ | A+ |
| Bannockburn | — | — | — | B+ | A+ | A+ |
Bannockburn has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Highland Park reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Deerfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Deerfield grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #51 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 D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
11 notable people were born here, including Colt Cabana and Homer H. Dubs.
_-_Chicago,_IL_-_June_2026.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
