Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Glen Ellyn earns an A+, 19th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. It is healthier than 96% of U.S. towns, its public schools beat 87% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation, and the median household earns $141K. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $572K for a typical one and 6.3 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 68% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Glen Ellyn, above both Illinois’ towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). Glen Ellyn is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Glen Ellyn is home to College of DuPage.
Where Glen Ellyn beats most towns.
Census counts: 473 in 1890, 28,846 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1916 and 7 maps from 1908 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Glen Ellyn is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Glen Ellyn. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw25 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
13 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 Glen Ellyn, 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 Glen Ellyn.
Glen Ellyn trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors and has less no health insurance than most of Illinois, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois.
At 6.3 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $572K) costs more against local pay than in 94% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Wheaton is next at $507K.
Typical home values rose 6.3% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Glen Ellyn is $1,433 a month.
| Glen Ellyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,433 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
11 miles of trail in 30 parks and preserves. Glen Ellyn’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile. Village Green Park, at 61 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Glen Ellyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.4% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Panfish Park | 1.3 mi | 29 |
| 2. Village Green Park | 1.1 mi | 61 |
| 3. Maryknoll Park | 0.8 mi | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is no health insurance: 5.4% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 9.9% statewide.
13% of Glen Ellyn adults report frequent mental distress. Glen Ellyn beats the Illinois average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 9.8% of Glen Ellyn adults report frequent physical distress.
| Glen Ellyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Glen Ellyn | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.4% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.7% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 11 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Glen Ellyn has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 76 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Glen Ellyn.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Glen Ellyn has about as many jobs (11,826) as working residents, but only 1,019 people both live and work here. 32.8% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
33% of workers work from home in Glen Ellyn. Most working residents leave Glen Ellyn for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Glen Ellyn grew to 11,826 in 2023, 911 more than in 2013.
| Glen Ellyn | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 33% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $141,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.3% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
14 within 15 miles of the center of Glen Ellyn
About 5 of every 100 Glen Ellyn residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
7 places in Glen Ellyn on the National Register of Historic Places.
20 notable people were born in Glen Ellyn.
Village in Illinois, United States
Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located 24 miles (39 km) due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Glen Ellyn.
At #19 in IL, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Wheaton (A+) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Ellyn | #19 | A+ | C− | A− | A | A+ |
| Wheaton | #49 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Lombard | #325 | B+ | D | B− | B+ | A |
| Carol Stream | #147 | A | C− | A− | B+ | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Glen Ellyn grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #19 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 C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
20 notable people were born here, including Katherine Dunham and Jeffery Deaver.
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