Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The typical home is worth about $993K, 10.9 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Overall it grades B−, 462nd among Illinois's 767 graded towns. Its public schools beat 96% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation and residents are healthier than 87% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its weakest subject is safety: its police reported 8 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 96% of U.S. towns. 34% of residents are 65 or older in Oak Brook, where Illinois’ towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. Oak Brook is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 86% of U.S. towns. Of the 357 Illinois towns we compare, none has a higher property crime rate than Oak Brook.
Where Oak Brook beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Oak Brook’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Oak Brook is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for schools (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 3%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 324 in 1960, 8,163 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1861 and 8 maps from 1891 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oak Brook. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw19 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw17 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 Oak Brook, 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 Oak Brook.
Oak Brook draws workers from Chicago and beyond, but it reports more crime than Lombard and its other graded neighbors and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois.
At 10.9 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $993K) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
Oak Brook’s median rent is $2,590 a month. Typical home values rose 9.2% in the year to September 2026. 91% of Oak Brook households own their home.
| Oak Brook | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,590 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 91% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8.1 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The trail density in Oak Brook is 1.0 miles per square mile. Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve, at 210 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Oak Brook | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.4% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Central Park | 1.8 mi | 109 |
| 2. Mayslake Forest Preserve | 1.7 mi | 96 |
| 3. Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve | 1.1 mi | 210 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Lombard (B−) to Hinsdale (A). Property crime runs at 59.2 per 1,000 residents, 4 times the Illinois rate, most of it theft.
Oak Brook reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
42,709 jobs are based in Oak Brook, 13.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
6.6% of residents live below the poverty line in Oak Brook. Since 2013, Oak Brook has added 5,608 jobs, to 42,709 in 2023. 21% of workers work from home in Oak Brook.
| Oak Brook | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $176,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 21% | 11% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Illinois is housing insecurity: 5.8% of its 6,678 adults worry about keeping their housing, against 13.2% statewide. Against the 1,502 U.S. towns with household incomes like Oak Brook’s, it is less healthy than 77%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
No town among the 767 in Illinois we compare has a lower share of adults who binge drink than Oak Brook. Oak Brook beats the Illinois average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. Among 767 Illinois towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Oak Brook.
| Oak Brook | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 17% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 18% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 22% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Oak Brook | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.8% | 13.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.5% | 7.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.5% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 72 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oak Brook.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Oak Brook has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
21 within 15 miles of the center of Oak Brook
About 8 of every 100 Oak Brook residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
4 places in Oak Brook on the National Register of Historic Places.
Suburb of Chicago
Oak Brook is a village in DuPage County and Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,163 at the 2020 census. A suburb of Chicago, it contains the headquarters of Ace Hardware, Portillo's Restaurants, Blistex, Federal Signal, CenterPoint Properties, Sanford L.P., TreeHouse Foods, Lions Clubs International, the U.S. Census Bureau Chicago regional office, and former headquarters of McDonald's and Ferrara Candy. The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art moved there in 2019.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Oak Brook.
Proviso Township next door grades lower for schools (C to Oak Brook’s A+) and higher for cost of living (C to D−).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Brook | #462 | B− | D− | D− | A+ | A |
| Hinsdale | #5 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Oakbrook Terrace | #321 | B+ | D | — | B | A |
| Westmont | #148 | A | D | B | A | A |
| Lombard | #325 | B+ | D | B− | B+ | A |
| York Township | #220 | A− | D | — | B+ | A |
| Downers Grove | #98 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
| Proviso Township | #512 | C+ | C | — | C | B+ |
Oakbrook Terrace, York Township and Proviso Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oak Brook with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oak Brook grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #462 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, D− 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−.
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