Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Lake Bluff earns an A+, ranked 15th of 767 in Illinois. It is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns, the median household earns $204K, and its schools outperform 95% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $675K for a typical one and 7.4 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 82% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Lake Bluff, against 29% in Illinois’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 4 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on hazard risk. Lake Bluff is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns.
Where Lake Bluff beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Lake Bluff | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.3% | 10.3% |
26.2% of the town is conserved land, across 15 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Lake Bluff is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 490 in 1900, 5,616 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 5 maps from 1906 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Bluff. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw7 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
Big draw37 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaUnited CenterWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake Bluff, 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 Lake Bluff.
Lake Bluff carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Illinois (mostly inland flooding) and has less tooth loss than most of Illinois, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois.
At 7.4 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $675K) costs more against local pay than in 96% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Home values rose 46% in five years, to about $675K, against 30% across Illinois.
The median rent in Lake Bluff is $2,063 a month. Typical home values rose 9.6% in the year to September 2026. 92% of Lake Bluff households own their home.
| Lake Bluff | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,063 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 92% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #1 of 768 in Illinois.
5.8 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. Lake Bluff’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Oriole Grove Forest Preserve, at 46 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oriole Grove Forest Preserve | 0.9 mi | 46 |
| 2. Skokie River Prairie Land and Water Reserve | 0.8 mi | 38 |
| 3. Ravine Park | 0.3 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is tooth loss: 3.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.3% statewide. Against the 986 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lake Bluff’s, it is healthier than 66%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
27% of adults feel lonely in Lake Bluff. Only 8 of the 767 Illinois towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Lake Bluff. 12% of adults report frequent mental distress in Lake Bluff.
| Lake Bluff | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lake Bluff | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.3% | 10.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.4% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 99% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $504 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
Only 9 of the 768 Illinois towns we compare have a lower FEMA risk score than Lake Bluff. Since 2017, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lake Bluff.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Lake Bluff has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Only 6 of the 768 Illinois towns we compare have a lower July high than Lake Bluff.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 5,305 in 2013 to 3,193. 33.8% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Lake Bluff for work: only 7% work in town. Jobs based in Lake Bluff fell to 3,193 in 2023, 2,112 fewer than in 2013. Among 768 Illinois towns, just 9 have a higher share of workers working from home than Lake Bluff.
| Lake Bluff | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 34% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $204,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.5% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
5 within 15 miles of the center of Lake Bluff
About 5 of every 100 Lake Bluff residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
5 places in Lake Bluff on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Lake Bluff.
Village in Illinois, United States
Lake Bluff (formerly Rockland) is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 5,616.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Lake Bluff.
North Chicago next door grades lower for schools (B+ to Lake Bluff’s A+) and higher for cost of living (C+ to D).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Bluff | #15 | A+ | D | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Shields Township | #209 | A− | D | — | B+ | A |
| Knollwood | — | — | C | — | A+ | A+ |
| North Chicago | #337 | B+ | C+ | B | B+ | B |
| Lake Forest | #12 | A+ | D | A− | A | A+ |
| Libertyville Township | #40 | A+ | C− | — | A+ | A+ |
Knollwood has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Shields Township, Knollwood and Libertyville Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lake Bluff with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Lake Bluff grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #15 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.
3 notable people were born here, including Martha Sleeper and Bay Darnell.
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