Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 136,611, settled in 1850.
For a city of 136,611, Maine Township does well: it grades A−, 176th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 88% of the country and its public schools beat 81% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. The trade-off: the typical home is worth about $375K, 4.1 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Maine Township is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Dam Number 4 North Preserve, 260 acres with 1.6 miles of trail. Maine Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 82% of U.S. towns.
Where Maine Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Theodore Roosevelt Elem School | K–5 | 677 |
| Forest Elem School | PK–5 | 658 |
| Eugene Field Elem School | K–5 | 626 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Maine Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 15%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 20,855 in 1930, 140,600 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1880 and 7 maps from 1900 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Maine Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
in town Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw22 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaRate FieldWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Maine 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 Maine Township.
Maine Township trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors and pairs an A− for schools with high home prices.
22 miles of trail in 78 parks and preserves. At 0.8 miles per square mile, Maine Township’s trail density is above both the Illinois town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Maine 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. Algonquin Woods Preserve | 2.3 mi | 193 |
| 2. Campground Road Woods Preserve | 2.1 mi | 107 |
| 3. Dam Number 4 North Preserve | 1.6 mi | 260 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $375K.
Three of its 47 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,111 | B+ |
| Maine South High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,494 | A |
| George B Carpenter Elem SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 435 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
26% of Maine Township adults have obesity, against 37% in Illinois’ towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 13% of Maine Township adults report frequent mental distress. Maine Township beats the Illinois average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Maine Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Maine Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.7% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults with obesity | 26.1% | 34% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.4% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Maine Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Maine Township has about as many jobs (69,299) as working residents, but only 8,258 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Maine Township for work: only 13% work in town. Maine Township’s average trip to work is 30 minutes. Jobs based in Maine Township grew to 69,299 in 2023, 6,077 more than in 2013.
| Maine Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (23% statewide). 47% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Maine Township. Maine Township has lost 2.8% of its people since 2020, down to 136,611 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Maine Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 43.2 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
50.6% women, 49.4% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.7 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 45.2, men 41.9.
| Maine Township | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.6% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.2% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.2% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.9% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.3% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.2% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.4% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.3% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.9% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 1,481 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Maine Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
24 within 15 miles of the center of Maine Township
About 5 of every 100 Maine Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Township in Illinois, United States
Maine Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 140,600 at the 2020 census. The township was founded in 1850. Maine Township is located in Cook County, directly north and east of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Maine Township contains portions of the Chicago suburbs of Park Ridge, Morton Grove, Niles, Glenview, Des Plaines and Rosemont. The township also contains unincorporated sections which mostly use a Des Plaines mailing address. Even though they have a Des Plaines (and in some cases a Niles) mailing address, the addresses follow Chicago's numbering system, where the starting points are State and Madison. Interstate 294, also kn…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Maine Township.
Leyden Township next door grades lower for schools (C− to Maine Township’s A−) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine Township | #176 | A− | D | — | A− | A |
| Chicago | #676 | C− | C− | D | C | B+ |
| Rosemont | #471 | B− | C | D− | B+ | B+ |
| Des Plaines | #197 | A− | C− | B | A− | A |
| Park Ridge | #30 | A+ | C− | B+ | A | A+ |
| Leyden Township | #543 | C+ | C | — | C− | B |
| Elk Grove Township | #294 | B+ | D | — | B | A |
| Niles Township | #290 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
Maine Township, Leyden Township, Elk Grove Township and Niles Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Maine Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Maine Township grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #176 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health 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.
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