Lily Lake-IL, 2021
Lily Lake’s story
141 years in pictures
Census counts: 825 in 2000, 1,032 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2021 and 6 maps from 1932 on.
- 1885Lily Lake is settled
Population
1,073
2025 Census estimate · +3.7% since 2020
Typical home
$578K
+5.1% in a year
Household income
$140K
median
Median age
46.0
years
Jobs based here
153
A commuter town
Is Lily Lake a good place to live?
Lily Lake’s best subject grades are an A+ for incomes and an A for health and schools. Lily Lake’s median household income is $140,000, above both the Illinois town median ($83,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). On incomes, just 9 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. Lily Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Lily Lake stand out
Where Lily Lake beats most towns.
Small town
1,073 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Campton TownshipVirgil TownshipLily Lake
How Lily Lake grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Lily Lake is from typical.
Jobs & incomeA+Open →HealthNorthwestern Medicine Delnor Community Hospital 8.3 miles awayAOpen →SchoolsBeat 88% of Illinois districts on tests and graduationAOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 20% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listA−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.3 of 20; 1.1% of households have no car; 1.3% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →Cost of livingTypical home $578K, 6.4 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household incomeC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors2 miles of trails; 3% conserved landA−Open →HistoryC−Open →Civic life2.1 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsC+Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 169 attractions →Allstate Arena and 47 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lily Lake. Close and well known come first.
30 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw40 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
31 mi MuseumMcDonald's #1 Store Museum
19 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
37 mi Stadium & arenaSeatGeek Stadium
23 mi MuseumMorton ArboretumSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · McDonald's #1 Store Museum: Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · SeatGeek Stadium: Khvmty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Morton Arboretum: Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5
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Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Lily Lake: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lily Lake, and how to reach them.
PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterPrairie Path Water Company-Ferson Creek1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpLRS Waste SystemsTrash haulerTown site
Register to voteOnlineIn Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereKane County ClerkKane County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP codes60175, 6015160175 79% · 60151 21%Census 2020
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 Lily Lake.
HousingCost of living grade C+
Lily Lake stands out in Illinois and nationally, with more of its households who own their home
98% of households own their home in Lily Lake, against 75% in Illinois’ towns and 73% across U.S. towns. The median rent in Lily Lake is $1,500 a month. Typical home values rose 5.1% in the year to September 2026.
$578KZillow home value
| Lily Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 98% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,500 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Lily Lake$578K
Illinois$296K
+5.1%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in April
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
HealthA
Residents of Lily Lake are healthier than 92% of U.S. towns
Lily Lake beats the Illinois average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 20% of adults binge drink in Lily Lake.
93%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Lily Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 19% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
18 better13 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Lily Lake | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.5% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.9% | 7.6% |
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Community Hospital
8.3 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A−
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Lily Lake
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities.
20risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A+
Compared with most of Illinois and the rest of the country, fewer of Lily Lake’s residents live below the poverty line
0.2% of Lily Lake residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Lily Lake has added 24 jobs, to 153 in 2023. Lily Lake’s average trip to work is 32 minutes.
0%work in town
| Lily Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 0.2% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Lily Lake0%
Chicago14%
St. Charles9%
Elgin6%
Naperville5%
21 mi
median commute distance
153
jobs based in Lily Lake
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
In Lily Lake, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Lily Lake has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 14° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
39″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter17–33°
Spring37–59°
Summer60–82°
Fall41–61°
Oct 18
typical first frost
Apr 26
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Who lives here
Older than Illinois overall
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). Lily Lake has grown 3.7% since 2020, to 1,073 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 42% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
46median age · IL 39
| Lily Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
Lily LakeIllinoisUnited States
Ages · share of residents
17%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma1%
High school20%
Some college30%
Associate’s8%
Bachelor’s28%
Graduate13%
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Lily Lake | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.7% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.5% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.8% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.7% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.2% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.3% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.5% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.6% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 30.2% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.5% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.3% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.3% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,100, single groups can be off by several points
OutdoorsA−
Lily Lake has set aside 3.4% of its land for conservation
1.9 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
3.4%conserved
| Lily Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
3.4%
conserved · 59 of 1,732 acres
1.9 mi
of trails · 0.7 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lily Lake
18pages on Lily Lake
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Lily Lake
Elgin Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Elgin8.8 mi$3,252 in-state tuitionWaubonsee Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Sugar Grove11.2 mi$3,504 in-state tuitionJudson UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Elgin11.8 mi$31,360 tuition
About 4 of every 100 Lily Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
A commuter town
100% of working residents leave Lily Lake for work
Where Lily Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
153jobs based in Lily Lake
0%of working residents work in town
21 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Lily Lake
Village in Illinois, United States
Lily Lake is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The town is 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Elgin and 50 miles (80 km) west of Chicago. The village is in the far western part the Chicago metro area. It was incorporated as a village on November 6, 1990. The population was 1,032 at the 2020 census, up from 993 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1885
- Area
- 2.8 sq mi
Questions about Lily Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lily Lake, IL expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.