Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Morton Grove grades A− overall, 239th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $111K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $449K for a typical one and 4.9 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Morton Grove’s trail density is 2.1 miles per square mile, above both Illinois’ towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Morton Grove is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. Herbert A. Dilg House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Morton Grove beats most towns.
2.1% of the town is conserved land, across 15 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Morton Grove is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 564 in 1900, 25,297 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1925 and 7 maps from 1900 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Morton Grove. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw21 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
6 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw17 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 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Morton Grove, 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 Morton Grove.
Morton Grove reports less crime than Glenview or any other graded neighbor, trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors and has less utility shut-off threats than most of Illinois.
11 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Frank Bobrytzke Forest, at 264 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forest Preserve District of Cook County | 3.9 mi | 181 |
| 2. Linne Woods Preserve | 2.6 mi | 179 |
| 3. Harrer Park | 0.8 mi | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is utility shut-off threats: 4.7% of its 20,259 adults were threatened with a utility shut-off, against 7.8% statewide.
23% of adults have obesity in Morton Grove, where Illinois’ towns sit at 37% and U.S. towns at 35%. 17% of Morton Grove adults have been diagnosed with depression. Morton Grove beats the Illinois average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Morton Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 22% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Morton Grove | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.7% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.8% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.4% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $8,109, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Morton Grove’s median rent is $2,164 a month. Typical home values rose 9.2% in the year to September 2026. 85% of households own their home in Morton Grove.
| Morton Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,164 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 85% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its B+ tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Glenview (B−) comes closest. At 12.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 51% of Illinois’s graded towns.
The violent crime rate in Morton Grove is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Morton Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Morton Grove 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
Morton Grove has about as many jobs (10,496) as working residents, but only 616 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 7,972 in 2013 to 10,496.
Most working residents leave Morton Grove for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Morton Grove grew to 10,496 in 2023, 2,524 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Chicago (33%), Skokie (6%) and Evanston (4%).
| Morton Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $111,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 30 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Morton Grove.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
39 within 15 miles of the center of Morton Grove
About 5 of every 100 Morton Grove residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
5 notable people were born in Morton Grove.
Village in Illinois, United States
Morton Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 25,297. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The village is named after former United States Vice President Levi Parsons Morton, who helped finance the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad (later the Milwaukee Road), which roughly tracked the North Branch of the Chicago River in the area and established a stop at the old Miller's Mill. Miller's Mill Road, now Lincoln Avenue, connected the former riverside sawmill to the township's central settlement (Niles Center, now Skokie). The railroad stop facilitated trade and development; the upstart neighborhood grew enough to incor…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Morton Grove.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morton Grove | #239 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Niles | #381 | B | C− | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Skokie | #465 | B− | D | C− | B+ | A |
| Glenview | #192 | A− | D− | B− | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Morton Grove grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #239 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, B+ 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.
5 notable people were born here, including Marlee Matlin and Derek Edwardson.
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