Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Geneva earns an A+, 47th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The median household earns $144K, it is healthier than 95% of U.S. towns, and its public schools beat 86% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $551K for a typical one and 6.1 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 64% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Geneva, above both Illinois’ towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). Geneva is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 93% of U.S. towns. Only 115 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on hazard risk.
Where Geneva beats most towns.
Census counts: 997 in 1860, 21,393 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 6 maps from 1932 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Geneva 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 12%), so the A+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Geneva. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw39 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
24 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate ArenaSoldier 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 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Geneva, 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 Geneva.
Geneva gets more snow than almost anywhere else in Illinois and draws workers from Aurora and beyond, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois.
At 6.1 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $551K) costs more against local pay than in 94% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $9,951, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Geneva is $1,768 a month. Typical home values rose 7.1% in the year to September 2026. 85% of Geneva households own their home.
| Geneva | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,768 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 85% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #4 of 768 in Illinois.
19 miles of trail in 38 parks and preserves. Geneva’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile. Fabyan Forest Preserve, at 187 acres with 1.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Peck Farm Park | 2.9 mi | 159 |
| 2. Fabyan Forest Preserve | 1.8 mi | 187 |
| 3. Burgess Field | 1 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 6.8% of its 16,511 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Geneva. Geneva beats the Illinois average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.3% of adults smoke cigarettes in Geneva.
| Geneva | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Geneva | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.8% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.8% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
16,594 jobs are based in Geneva, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 25.6% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Geneva for work: only 13% work in town. Jobs based in Geneva grew to 16,594 in 2023, 3,218 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Chicago (12%), St.
| Geneva | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $144,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 2007, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Geneva.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The St. Charles 0.1 E weather station records that 46 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, the highest of 2,880 Illinois places with climate records.
Geneva has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84° and January nights drop to 15°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
11 within 15 miles of the center of Geneva
About 5 of every 100 Geneva residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
13.8% of the town is conserved land, across 38 parks and preserves.
10 places in Geneva on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Geneva.
City in Illinois, United States
Geneva is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the far western side of the Chicago suburbs. Per the 2020 census, the population was 21,393. Geneva is part of a tri-city area, located between St. Charles and Batavia. The area experienced rapid population growth from the late 1980s through the mid-2000s as the Chicago suburbs spread to the west. Geneva is located along the Fox River. Portions of the Fox River Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path pass through Geneva. The Fabyan Windmill, a Dutch windmill dating from the 1850s, is located here.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Geneva.
At #47 in IL, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Batavia (A) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva | #47 | A+ | D | B+ | A | A+ |
| Batavia | #97 | A | C− | B+ | A− | A |
| St. Charles | #153 | A | D | B | A | A |
| St. Charles Township | #146 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Geneva Township | #68 | A | D | — | A | A |
St. Charles Township and Geneva Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Geneva with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Geneva grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #47 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A+ for health, B+ 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.
21 notable people were born here, including Bob Woodward and Edmund Beecher Wilson.
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