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Main St railroad crossing - Long Lake, IL - July 2026
Illinois›Lake County

Long LakeIL

A town of 3,307, settled in 1901.

4 bordering townsMap →
Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0
Photo of Long Lake

Long Lake, IL · Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0 · Source ↗

Is Long Lake a good place to live?

Long Lake is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 521st among Illinois's 767 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $105K. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its schools rank behind 71% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $264K, 2.9 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 9% of residents are 65 or older in Long Lake, below both the Illinois town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Long Lake is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 77% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Grant Woods Forest Preserve, at 43 acres.

What makes Long Lake stand out

Where Long Lake beats most towns.

A commuter town

99% of working residents leave Long Lake for work

Where Long Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

9% → Chicago Chicago 9% 5% → Waukegan Waukegan 5% 4% → Gurnee Gurnee 4% 4% → Mundelein Mundelein 4% 3% → Grayslake Grayslake 3% 3% → Libertyville Libertyville 3% Long Lake · 1% stay
243jobs based in Long Lake
1%of working residents work in town
14 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

How Long Lake grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Long Lake is from typical.

How grading works
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

Czechoslovak Catholic Camp at Long Lake, Illinois (1)
Czechoslovak Catholic Camp at Long Lake, Illinois (1), 1927
Long Lake’s story

125 years in pictures

Census counts: 3,356 in 2000, 3,663 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1927 and 4 maps from 1920 on.

  • 1901Long Lake is settled
Explore the history →
Nearby attractions

Wrigley Field and 62 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Long Lake. Close and well known come first.

All 189 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 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 · Lincoln Park: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0

Getting set up

Moving to Long Lake: who provides what

Long Lake is unincorporated, so Lake County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterRound Lake Beach water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesLake CountyLake County provides services here
SchoolsGrant Community High School District 124Gavin School District 37Round Lake Community Unit School District 1163 districts serve Long Lake; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
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.gov
Who runs elections hereLake County ClerkLake County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2024
ZIP codes60041, 6007360041 59% · 60073 41%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 Long Lake.

Long Lake sends most of its workers to Chicago and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.

Work & commuteJobs & income grade B

Most working residents commute out of Long Lake

Long Lake has 243 jobs for its 1,616 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.

Most working residents leave Long Lake for work: only 1% work in town. Long Lake’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. Jobs based in Long Lake grew to 243 in 2023, 137 more than in 2013.

1%work in town
Long LakeIllinois townsU.S. towns
Average trip to work33 minutes26 minutes25 minutes
Median household income$105,000$83,000$80,000
Working residents who work in town0.8%8.4%8%
Below the poverty line7.5%8.4%9.6%

Where working residents work

In Long Lake1%
Chicago9%
Waukegan5%
Gurnee4%
Mundelein4%
14 mi
median commute distance
243
jobs based in Long Lake
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
A−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

In Long Lake, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers

Long Lake has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Long Lake is 83°F.

43″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter18–33°
Spring37–57°
Summer60–81°
Fall42–61°
Oct 23
typical first frost
Apr 24
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

HousingCost of living grade B−

Long Lake earns a B− for cost of living

Typical home values rose 6.1% in the year to September 2026. 83% of Long Lake households own their home.

$264KZillow home value
Long LakeIllinois townsU.S. towns
Median rent$1,530 a month$1,128 a month$1,185 a month
Households that own their home83%75%73%

Typical home value

Long Lake$264K
Illinois$296K
Market temperature
Seller’s marketA seller's marketBuyer’sSeller’s
39
days on market
102.7%
sale-to-list price
+6.1%
value change, 1 year
5
homes sold in May

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C

Inland flooding leads a moderate hazard risk in Long Lake

Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Long Lake.

59risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
59Moderate riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
14
paid flood claims since 1986

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

OutdoorsC

Long Lake has set aside 1.5% of its land for conservation

0.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.

1.5%conserved
Long LakeIllinois townsU.S. towns
Miles of trail per square mile0.1 miles per square mile0.30.4
Conserved land1.5%3.7%4.3%
1.5%
conserved · 17 of 1,136 acres
0.1 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Grant Woods Forest Preserve—43
2. Whitewood Park—1
3. Everbreeze Stanton Park—1

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

HealthB−

On CDC estimates, Long Lake is healthier than 50% of U.S. towns

Against the 7,896 U.S. towns with household incomes like Long Lake’s, it is less healthy than 78%: its national edge comes with its incomes.

Long Lake beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 74% of adults had a checkup this year in Long Lake.

50%healthier than U.S. townsB−Health Grade
Long LakeIllinois townsU.S. towns
Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES)74%78%79%
No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES)14%7.9%8.1%
Depression (CDC PLACES)21%22%23%
Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES)21%18%19%
32 measures vs. Illinois
0 better26 too close to call6 worse
What stands outLong LakeIL
More uninsured adults13.8%9.9%
More smokers14.8%12.1%
Fewer adults seeing a dentist58.4%63.4%
Northwestern Medicine Mchenry
8.5 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
37th
percentile among IL towns

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Long Lake

17pages on Long Lake
After high school

Colleges nearby

4 within 15 miles of the center of Long Lake

About Long Lake

Census-designated place in Illinois, United States

Long Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 3,663.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
1.6 sq mi
Elevation
738 ft
Area code
847

Long Lake’s neighbors

4 towns share a border with Long Lake.

Explore the map →

All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; Round Lake Beach (B−) is closest.

How the neighbors grade
TownIL rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Long Lake#521C+B−—CB−
Round Lake Beach#505B−CB+B−C+
Round Lake Heights#361B+C+AC+B+
Round Lake#366BC−A−B−A−
Avon Township#401BC—B−A−

Long Lake and Avon Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Long Lake with a neighbor →

Questions about Long Lake

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Long Lake, IL a good place to live?

Long Lake grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #521 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health and C for schools.

Is Long 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 B−.