Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Elwood’s best subject grades are an A− for incomes and an A for the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for walkability. 60% of the land in Elwood is conserved, against 3.7% in Illinois’ towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 87 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, at 185 acres. Elwood has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Elwood beats most towns.
Where Elwood’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 Elwood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 312 in 1880, a low of 211 in 1910, 2,229 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elwood, 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 Elwood.
4.3 miles of trail wind through 2 parks and preserves. Elwood’s trail density stands at 0.3 miles per square mile, where Illinois’ towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie | — | 185 |
| 2. Tyler Park | 0.2 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 2013, Elwood has added 1,055 jobs, to 2,369 in 2023. Most people who work leave Elwood to do it: just 3% work in town. The town’s typical journey to work stands at 32 minutes. The top destinations are Joliet (16%), Chicago (10%) and New Lenox (5%).
| Elwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Elwood’s violent offense rate comes in at 0.4 per 1,000 residents. Its rate of thefts and burglaries stands at 9.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Elwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Households in Elwood have drawn federal disaster aid in 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in just over three fifths of U.S. communities. 66% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 16%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 5.2%. Among households in Elwood, 79% live in a home they own.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Elwood: a fifth of adults binge drink. CDC measures, 32 in all: Elwood beats Illinois on 3 and trails on 2. 39% of adults in the town have obesity; 38% sleep under 7 hours.
| Elwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Elwood | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.4% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.7% | 13.2% |
| More adults with arthritis | 27.4% | 24.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
38 mi MuseumKenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry1.5M visitors a year
40 mi MuseumHull House
35 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a yearBarack 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 · Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry: zooey from Chicago, Illinois USA, CC BY 2.0 · Hull House: User talk:Hied5, Public domain · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution
3 within 15 miles of the center of Elwood
About 2 of every 100 Elwood residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Elwood is a village in rural Will County, Illinois, United States, approximately 45 miles southwest of Chicago. The population was 2,229 at the 2020 United States census, down from 2,279 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Elwood.
Elwood has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Elwood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.6 years of the area's median household income ($90,887 across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
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