Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lincolnwood grades B overall, ranked 368th of 767 in Illinois. Residents are healthier than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its schools rank ahead of 78% of Illinois towns. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $571K, 6.3 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Lincolnwood’s median rent is $3,501 a month, where Illinois’ towns sit at $1,128 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Lincolnwood is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 95% of U.S. towns. Only 97 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on history.
Where Lincolnwood beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Lincolnwood | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.9% | 7.8% |
Where Lincolnwood’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Lincolnwood is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 2%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 359 in 1910, 13,463 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2002 and 6 maps from 1899 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lincolnwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw17 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw10 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lincolnwood, 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 Lincolnwood.
Lincolnwood draws workers from Chicago and beyond, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half and 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 $571K) costs more against local pay than in 94% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Skokie is next at $427K.
Typical home values rose 8.7% in the year to September 2026. 84% of households own their home in Lincolnwood.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2.7 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The trail density in Lincolnwood is 1.0 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Lincolnwood Centennial Park, at 23 acres.
| Lincolnwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Park No. 538 | 1.3 mi | 31 |
| 2. Henry Proesel Park | 1.1 mi | 20 |
| 3. Lincolnwood Centennial Park | 0.1 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
10,936 jobs are based in Lincolnwood, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 24.8% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Lincolnwood for work: only 6% work in town. Lincolnwood’s median household income is $110,000. Since 2013, Lincolnwood has added 1,705 jobs, to 10,936 in 2023.
| Lincolnwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $110,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.3% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.7% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Illinois is utility shut-off threats: 3.9% of its 10,736 adults were threatened with a utility shut-off, against 7.8% statewide.
22% of Lincolnwood adults have obesity. Among 767 Illinois towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Lincolnwood. 32% of Lincolnwood adults have high blood pressure.
| Lincolnwood | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 22% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.6% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lincolnwood | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.9% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.4% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lincolnwood has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes rose from 159 to 248 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lincolnwood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
39 within 15 miles of the center of Lincolnwood
About 7 of every 100 Lincolnwood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
4 notable people were born in Lincolnwood.
Village in Illinois, United States
Lincolnwood (formerly Tessville) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 13,463. An inner suburb of Chicago, it shares its southern, eastern, and a small section of its western boundary with Chicago, also bordering Skokie to the north and west.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Lincolnwood.
Chicago next door grades lower for schools (C to Lincolnwood’s A−) and higher for cost of living (C− to D−).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincolnwood | #368 | B | D− | C+ | A− | A |
| Skokie | #465 | B− | D | C− | B+ | A |
| Niles Township | #290 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Chicago | #676 | C− | C− | D | C | B+ |
Niles Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Lincolnwood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lincolnwood grades B overall, better than 65% of U.S. towns and #368 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, C+ 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Jim Irsay and Steve Marmel.
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