Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A good place to live, if you can afford it. At A overall, Downers Grove Township ranks 82nd of 767 in Illinois. It comes out better than 93% of U.S. towns. Where it does best is health (A): it is healthier than 94% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $455K, 5 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Only 47 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on the outdoors. 57% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in the city, where Illinois’ towns sit at 29% and U.S. towns at 29%. Only 102 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score higher on walkability.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US.
Where Downers Grove Township beats most towns.
13.1% of the town is conserved land, across 119 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Downers Grove Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 586 in 1880, 50,247 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1950 and 4 maps from 1953 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Downers Grove Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw20 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw18 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 · 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 Downers Grove Township, 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 Downers Grove Township.
Downers Grove Township trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors, has less food insecurity than most of Illinois and pairs an A for schools with high home prices.
The biggest place to walk is Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, 2,814 acres with 13.7 miles of trail. Count the trails in 119 parks and preserves and they come to 51 miles. In Downers Grove Township, the concentration of trails is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve | 13.7 mi | 2,814 |
| 2. Ty Warner Park | 2.4 mi | 37 |
| 3. Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve | 2.2 mi | 107 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $455K.
Three of its 58 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Public school enrollment in Downers Grove Township: 2,950 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinsdale Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 755 | A+ |
| Comm H S Dist 99 - South High SchLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,591 | A− |
| Oak Elem SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 446 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 9.2% of its 20,456 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
10% of Downers Grove Township adults report frequent physical distress. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Downers Grove Township is ahead of Illinois on 19 and behind on 1.
| Downers Grove Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Downers Grove Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.2% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Flood insurance has paid out on 210 claims in Downers Grove Township since 1978. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 16°, and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Downers Grove Township has about as many jobs (68,692) as working residents, but only 9,473 people both live and work here.
The top destinations are Chicago (24%), Downers Grove (6%) and Naperville (4%). For most workers, Downers Grove Township is a place to come home to: only 14% work in town. Since 2013, Downers Grove Township has added 8,249 jobs, to 68,692 in 2023. The share of workers in Downers Grove Township who do their job from home: 23%.
| Downers Grove Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $117,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
20 within 15 miles of the center of Downers Grove Township
About 6 of every 100 Downers Grove Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. Per the 2020 census, the population of the village was 50,248. It is a west-southwestern suburb of Chicago located between I-88 and I-55.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Downers Grove Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downers Grove Township | #82 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Lemont Township | #25 | A+ | C | — | A− | A |
| York Township | #220 | A− | D | — | B+ | A |
| Lisle Township | #71 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Willow Springs | #102 | A | D | A | A | A |
| Downers Grove | #98 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
| Lyons Township | #219 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Westmont | #148 | A | D | B | A | A |
Downers Grove Township, Lemont Township, York Township, Lisle Township and Lyons Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Downers Grove Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Downers Grove Township grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #82 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health 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.
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