Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 109,978, settled in 1832.
For a city of 109,978, Niles Township does well: it grades B+, ranked 290th of 767 in Illinois. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 89% of the country and its schools rank ahead of 75% of Illinois towns. The trade-off: the typical home is worth about $418K, 4.6 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Niles Township’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both Illinois’ towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Niles Township is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns.
Where Niles Township beats most towns.
7.1% of the town is conserved land, across 78 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Niles 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 7%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 289 in 1880, 30,912 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1934 and 7 maps from 1900 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Niles Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw19 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
7 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 Niles 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 Niles Township.
In the comparison, Niles Township comes above both the Illinois town median (3.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). 30 miles of trail in 78 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Harms Woods Preserves, at 289 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forest Preserve District of Cook County | 4.2 mi | 251 |
| 2. Harms Woods Nature Preserve | 2.7 mi | 134 |
| 3. Linne Woods Preserve | 2.5 mi | 180 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of its 44 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park View Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 885 | A |
| Niles West High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,646 | A− |
| Fairview South Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 718 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
24% of adults have obesity in Niles Township. Niles Township beats the Illinois average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 17% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Niles Township.
| Niles Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 22% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Niles Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.1% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.3% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.5% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $8,027, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Niles Township is $1,685 a month. Typical home values rose 8.2% in the year to September 2026.
| Niles Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,685 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Niles Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Niles Township for work: only 14% work in town. 20% of Niles Township workers work from home. Since 2013, Niles Township has added 13,264 jobs, to 74,311 in 2023.
| Niles Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 20% | 11% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 313 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Niles Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
38 within 15 miles of the center of Niles Township
About 6 of every 100 Niles Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Village in the United States
Niles is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located in the townships of Maine and Niles, directly neighboring Chicago's far northwest border. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,912. The current mayor of Niles is George Alpogianis.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Niles Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles Township | #290 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Chicago | #676 | C− | C− | D | C | B+ |
| Skokie | #465 | B− | D | C− | B+ | A |
| Niles | #381 | B | C− | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Evanston | #419 | B | D− | C− | A− | A+ |
| New Trier Township | #45 | A+ | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Northfield Township | #117 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Lincolnwood | #368 | B | D− | C+ | A− | A |
Niles Township, New Trier Township and Northfield Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Niles Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Niles Township grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #290 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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