Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 115,476, Elgin does unevenly: it grades C+, 526th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. It is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark is a C in cost of living. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 12 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include First Universalist Church and Elgin Academy. Only 110 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score lower on civic life. Elgin is home to Elgin Community College.
Where Elgin beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,797 in 1860, 114,797 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 6 maps from 1925 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Elgin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elgin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
23 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw38 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elgin, 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 Elgin.
Elgin trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors, but it reports more crime than West Dundee and its other graded neighbors and scores below Dundee Township and its other neighbors on health.
For Elgin, that is where Illinois’ towns sit at 3.6% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. 20 miles of trail in 76 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Meissner Prairie-Corron Forest Preserve, at 400 acres.
| Elgin | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.1% | 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. Bluff Spring Fen | 2.4 mi | 180 |
| 2. Lords Park | 1.2 mi | 79 |
| 3. Elgin Sports Complex | 1.1 mi | 149 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Elgin has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 15° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Elgin has about as many jobs (53,387) as working residents, but only 10,516 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Elgin’s working residents works in town. At 28 minutes, Elgin’s average trip to work is above both Illinois’ towns (26 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). The top destinations are Chicago (11%), Schaumburg (5%) and St.
| Elgin | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Elgin home is worth about $340,000, up 4.7% in a year, 15% above the Illinois typical home. The median rent in Elgin is $1,361 a month.
| Elgin | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,361 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
All 7 graded neighbors score healthier than its B, from Dundee Township (A−) to Campton Hills (A+).
Elgin beats the Illinois average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 17% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Elgin.
| Elgin | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 13% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Elgin | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.3% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 21.6% | 24.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 16.8% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Each of the 6 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from West Dundee (B) to Campton Hills (A+).
Elgin’s violent crime rate is 2.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Elgin | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
115 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 23 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 115 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Elgin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Elgin
About 6 of every 100 Elgin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
2 colleges in town.
12 places in Elgin on the National Register of Historic Places.
55 notable people were born in Elgin.
City in Illinois, United States
Elgin ( EL-jin) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located 35 mi (56 km) northwest of Chicago along the Fox River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 114,797, making it the sixth-most populous city in the state.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Elgin.
All 7 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; South Elgin (B+) is closest. Pingree Grove next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Elgin’s C+) and lower for cost of living (D to C).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin · Elgin Township | #526 | C+ | C | B− | C+ | B |
| Campton Hills | #6 | A+ | C | A+ | A | A+ |
| West Dundee | #240 | A− | D | B | B+ | A |
| Bartlett | #223 | A− | D | A | C+ | A |
| Pingree Grove | #103 | A | D | A+ | B+ | A |
| South Elgin | #295 | B+ | C− | B+ | B | A− |
| Dundee Township | #270 | A− | C− | — | B+ | A− |
| Gilberts | #112 | A | C− | A+ | B+ | A |
Dundee Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Elgin Township and Elgin are one community, graded once. Compare Elgin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Elgin grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #526 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health, B− for safety and C+ 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.
55 notable people were born here, including Bruce Boxleitner and David Otunga.
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