Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 56,118, settled in 1850.
New Trier Township is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 45th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, its schools rank ahead of 98% of Illinois towns, and the median household earns $216K. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $963K for a typical one and 10.6 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 85% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in New Trier Township, above both the Illinois town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. On the outdoors, just 105 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better.
Where New Trier Township beats most towns.
| Widest gap | New Trier Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.7% | 15.9% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Central Elem School | K–4 | 485 |
| The Joseph Sears School | PK–8 | 471 |
| Romona Elem School | PK–4 | 462 |
7.8% of the town is conserved land, across 66 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far New Trier Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 6 maps from 1899 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around New Trier Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw23 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
10 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate ArenaWrigley 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 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in New Trier 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 New Trier Township.
New Trier Township has schools in the top 5% of Illinois, has less food insecurity than most of Illinois and has household incomes well above the Illinois norm.
The trail density in New Trier Township is 2.1 miles per square mile. Forest Preserve District of Cook County, at 421 acres with 2.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 34 miles of trail in 66 parks and preserves.
| New Trier Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.8% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chicago Botanic Gardens | 6.7 mi | 242 |
| 2. Skokie Lagoons South | 2.6 mi | 298 |
| 3. Forest Preserve District of Cook County | 2.1 mi | 421 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A+ ranks #1 of the 768 Illinois towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $963K.
Three of its 28 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmette Junior High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 766 | A+ |
| New Trier Township H S WinnetkaLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 2,770 | A+ |
| The Joseph Sears SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 471 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 5.7% of its 14,591 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
24% of adults have obesity in New Trier Township. New Trier Township beats the Illinois average on 24 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of adults have high blood pressure in New Trier Township.
| New Trier Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.8% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | New Trier Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.7% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.1% | 7.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
33.9% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
Most working residents leave New Trier Township for work: only 10% work in town. 34% of New Trier Township workers work from home. The top destinations are Chicago (43%), Evanston (5%) and Wilmette (4%).
| New Trier Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 34% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $216,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
New Trier Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. New Trier Township’s July high is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 352 flood insurance claims have been paid out in New Trier Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
19 within 15 miles of the center of New Trier Township
About 4 of every 100 New Trier Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Where New Trier Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Township in Illinois, United States
New Trier Township () is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 57,371. The township contains New Trier High School, but the borders of the school district do not line up exactly with the borders of the township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with New Trier Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Trier Township | #45 | A+ | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Winnetka | #10 | A+ | D | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Glencoe | #11 | A+ | D− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Wilmette | #67 | A | D− | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Northfield Township | #117 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Evanston | #419 | B | D− | C− | A− | A+ |
| Niles Township | #290 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Kenilworth | — | — | C | A+ | A+ | A+ |
Kenilworth has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. New Trier Township, Northfield Township and Niles Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare New Trier Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. New Trier Township grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #45 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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