Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lyons Township is a city of 112,345, and it grades A− overall, ranked 219th of 767 in Illinois. It is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns and its schools outperform 81% of the state's. The trade-off: homes are expensive, about $280K for a typical one and 3.1 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Lyons Township is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 96% of U.S. towns. Only 118 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on history. Arie Crown Forest, at 394 acres with 4.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Lyons Township beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Lyons Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 486 in 1880, 10,817 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 8 maps from 1891 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lyons Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw14 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw14 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 Lyons Township, 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 Lyons Township.
Lyons Township pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm, trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors and pairs an A− for schools with high home prices.
27 miles of trail in 81 parks and preserves. Lyons Township’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile, above both the Illinois town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Lyons Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Arie Crown Forest | 4.1 mi | 394 |
| 2. Buffalo Woods | 1.1 mi | 233 |
| 3. Theodore Stone Forest Preserve | 0.9 mi | 137 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $280K.
Three of its 54 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 659 | C− |
| Lyons Twp High SchLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,706 | A |
| Cossitt Ave Elem SchoolTop results in townGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 472 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
29% of Lyons Township adults have obesity, against 37% in Illinois’ towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 14% of Lyons Township adults report frequent mental distress. Lyons Township beats the Illinois average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Lyons Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Lyons Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with obesity | 29.1% | 34% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.7% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lyons Township has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Lyons Township has about as many jobs (57,516) as working residents, but only 6,156 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Lyons Township for work: only 12% work in town. The average trip to work in Lyons Township is 30 minutes. Since 2013, Lyons Township has added 4,691 jobs, to 57,516 in 2023.
| Lyons Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 11% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 185 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lyons Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). 40% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Lyons Township. Lyons Township has lost 2.4% of its people since 2020, down to 112,345 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Lyons Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.1 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.0, men 39.9.
| Lyons Township | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.9% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.5% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.7% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.5% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.9% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.3% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.2% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.6% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.2% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.9% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Lyons Township grades A− overall with a typical home of about $280K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Lyons Township home is worth about $280,000, up 2.9% in a year, 5% below the Illinois typical home.
| Lyons Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,282 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 49% | 46% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
50 within 15 miles of the center of Lyons Township
About 5 of every 100 Lyons Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Lyons is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 10,817. The Chicago Portage National Historic Site is located in Lyons.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Lyons Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyons Township | #219 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Palos Township | #157 | A | C | — | A | A |
| Proviso Township | #512 | C+ | C | — | C | B+ |
| Stickney Township | #604 | C | C | — | C− | B |
| La Grange | #42 | A+ | C− | B | A | A+ |
| La Grange Park | #22 | A+ | D | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Riverside Township | #74 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Lyons | #618 | C | C | — | D | B |
Lyons Township, Palos Township, Proviso Township, Stickney Township, Riverside Township and Lyons report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lyons Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lyons Township grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #219 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
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