Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lisle is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 20th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. Residents are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, its schools outperform 93% of the state's, and the median household earns $107K. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $407K, 4.5 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Lisle’s trail density is 4.1 miles per square mile, above both Illinois’ towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Lisle is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 37 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better.
Where Lisle beats most towns.
8.3% of the town is conserved land, across 39 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Lisle is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 48 in 1880, 24,223 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1922 and 7 maps from 1908 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lisle. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw26 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw25 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearSoldier 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 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lisle, 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 Lisle.
Lisle draws workers from Naperville and beyond, has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Illinois and has less tooth loss than most of Illinois.
At 4.1 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #3 of 589 Illinois towns.
For Lisle, that is above both the Illinois town median (3.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). 29 miles of trail in 39 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Community Park, at 115 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Danada South Park | 1.1 mi | 37 |
| 2. Abbeywood Park | 0.8 mi | 14 |
| 3. Community Park | 0.7 mi | 115 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is tooth loss: 5.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.3% statewide.
9.5% of adults report frequent physical distress in Lisle. Lisle beats the Illinois average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 28% of adults have obesity in Lisle.
| Lisle | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lisle | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.8% | 10.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.6% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
22,548 jobs are based in Lisle, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Lisle for work: only 6% work in town. 21% of Lisle workers work from home. Since 2013, Lisle has lost 2,761 jobs, to 22,548 in 2023.
| Lisle | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $107,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Violent crime is rare: 11 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Lisle is 4.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Lisle | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Lisle has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
202 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 26 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 202 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lisle.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $8,631, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Lisle’s median rent is $1,658 a month.
| Lisle | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,658 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 38% | 46% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
13 within 15 miles of the center of Lisle
About 8 of every 100 Lisle residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
3 colleges in town.
Village in Illinois, United States
Lisle ( LY-əl) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lisle had a population of 24,223. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago in the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. It is also the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Lisle.
At #20 in IL, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Naperville (A+) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisle | #20 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
| Naperville | #46 | A+ | D | B+ | A | A+ |
| Downers Grove | #98 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
| Woodridge | #100 | A | D | A− | A− | A |
| Wheaton | #49 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Lisle grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #20 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 D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $407,000, 37% above the Illinois typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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