Lake in the HillsIL
28,590 people live in this town, founded in 1923.
Is Lake in the Hills a good place to live?
Much to like here, and you pay for it. Where it does best is safety (A): it reports less crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns. Health is a strength too: residents are healthier than 87% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $378K, 4.2 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 180th of 767 in Illinois. Lake in the Hills’ trail density is 2.2 miles per square mile, where Illinois’ towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Only 41 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on history.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap · National Register of Historic Places.
What makes Lake in the Hills stand out
Where Lake in the Hills beats most towns.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
| Widest gap | Lake in the Hills | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.3% | 3.3% |
23 miles of trails in Lake in the Hills
12.7% of the town is conserved land, across 15 parks and preserves.
How Lake in the Hills grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Lake in the Hills is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Lake in the Hills: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake in the Hills, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lake in the Hills.
Lake in the Hills is one of Illinois’s best towns for the outdoors, sends most of its workers to Chicago and beyond and sees little violent crime.
Trail density in Lake in the Hills is higher than in most of Illinois or the rest of the country
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #13 of 768 in Illinois.
The biggest place to walk is Illinois Department of Natural Resources, 143 acres with 3.2 miles of trail. Count the trails in 15 parks and preserves and they come to 23 miles.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Illinois Department of Natural Resources | 3.2 mi | 143 |
| 2. Lake In The Hills Fen Nature Preserve | 1.4 mi | 70 |
| 3. Sunset Park | 0.9 mi | 91 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Lake in the Hills’ grade for safety is an A
Violent crime is rare: 23 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Lake in the Hills is 2.6 per 1,000 residents. The rate of reported violence in the town is 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Lake in the Hills | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Lake in the Hills’ grade for health is an A
Lake in the Hills: 15% of adults say their health is fair or poor. 11% of adults in Lake in the Hills report frequent physical distress; 31% sleep under 7 hours.
| Lake in the Hills | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lake in the Hills | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.3% | 3.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 71.3% | 75.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For most of its workers, the job is outside Lake in the Hills
Lake in the Hills has 3,415 jobs for its 14,732 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 20 miles. Employers in Lake in the Hills added 510 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 3,415. Only 3% of working residents stay in Lake in the Hills for work; the rest commute out. The mean commuting time for Lake in the Hills comes to 32 minutes.
| Lake in the Hills | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $117,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lake in the Hills’ grade for cost of living is a C−
For Lake in the Hills, the going rate for rent is $1,689 a month. Home values are up 4.2% over the year to September 2026. The share of households in Lake in the Hills who own their home: 84%.
| Lake in the Hills | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,689 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 84% | 75% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expect four seasons and pleasant summers in Lake in the Hills
Lake in the Hills’ typical July afternoon high is 83°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Younger than Illinois overall
Among residents in Lake in the Hills, 10% are 65 or older. College graduates make up 36% of adults 25 and older, against 38% across Illinois. Lake in the Hills’ midpoint age stands at 36.8 years.
| Lake in the Hills | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 10% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 28% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 36.8 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.5 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.6, men 36.3.
| Lake in the Hills | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.8% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.8% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.6% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.3% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.5% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.9% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.9% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.1% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.8% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.4% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.9% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.8% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The biggest natural risk in Lake in the Hills is inland flooding, at a moderate overall level
Expected losses in Lake in the Hills break down as 59% from inland flooding and 18% from cold waves. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in just over half of U.S. communities. Also worth knowing: the national flood insurance program has paid 31 claims here since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Wrigley Field and 81 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake in the Hills. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
23 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
25 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
11 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
24 mi MuseumMcDonald's #1 Store MuseumPhoto credits
Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · McDonald's #1 Store Museum: Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5
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Everything we know about Lake in the Hills
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Lake in the Hills
About 5 of every 100 Lake in the Hills residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
97% of working residents leave Lake in the Hills for work
Where Lake in the Hills’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Lake in the Hills
Village in Illinois, United States
Lake in the Hills is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,982. The village is most known for its very high residential growth which occurred most heavily in the 1990s. Once a sleepy lakeside village of cottages and small ranches, its population skyrocketed as developers flocked to the area in the 1990s. Its population increased by 17,000 people (a nearly 400% increase) over this period, making it one of the most rapidly growing suburbs of Chicago and in the United States at that time. At the height of its building boom, the village issued over 1,000 residential building permits in 1995.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1952
- Area
- 11 sq mi
- ZIP code
- 60156
Lake in the Hills’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Lake in the Hills.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake in the Hills | #180 | A− | C− | A | B+ | A |
| Crystal Lake | #232 | A− | C | B | B+ | A |
| Algonquin | #186 | A− | C− | B+ | B+ | A |
| Huntley | #191 | A− | C− | A | A | A− |
| Cary | #79 | A | C− | A | A− | A |
Questions about Lake in the Hills
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lake in the Hills, IL a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lake in the Hills grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #180 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, A for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Lake in the Hills, IL expensive?
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−.
What is Lake in the Hills, IL known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Amanze Egekeze and Dennis Gardeck.