Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oak Forest grades A− overall, ranked 193rd of 767 in Illinois, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 86% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it reports less crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $92K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $301K, 3.3 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Oak Forest is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Oak Forest's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 88% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Yankee Woods, at 215 acres.
Where Oak Forest beats most towns.
Where Oak Forest’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 Forest is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1800, comes before those of 99% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,856 in 1950, 27,478 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oak Forest. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw15 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw20 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 Forest, 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 Forest.
Oak Forest reports less crime than Orland Park or any other graded neighbor, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
20% of adults binge drink in Oak Forest, where Illinois’ towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 16%. 29% of adults have obesity in Oak Forest. Oak Forest beats the Illinois average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Oak Forest | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 37% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oak Forest | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.7% | 11.7% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.6% | 7.8% |
| More binge drinkers | 20.4% | 17.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Orland Park (B+) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 172 to 101 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
At 3.4 per 1,000 residents, Oak Forest’s property crime rate is below both Illinois’ towns (7.9) and U.S. towns (9.9). The violent crime rate in Oak Forest is 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Oak Forest | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Oak Forest for work: only 4% work in town. Oak Forest’s average trip to work is 32 minutes. The top destinations are Chicago (22%), Tinley Park (4%) and Orland Park (4%).
| Oak Forest | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Oak Forest | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Yankee Woods | 0.8 mi | 215 |
| 2. Don Burns Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
| 3. Tinley Creek Forest Preserve | — | 117 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Oak Forest has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (39% statewide). Oak Forest has lost 2.5% of its people since 2020, down to 26,792 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Oak Forest | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 29% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.5, men 38.8.
| Oak Forest | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.9% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.8% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.3% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.8% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.1% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
77 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 77 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oak Forest.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical home values rose 6.1% in the year to September 2026. 82% of Oak Forest households own their home.
| Oak Forest | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,328 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
18 within 15 miles of the center of Oak Forest
About 6 of every 100 Oak Forest residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
City in Illinois, United States
Oak Forest is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The city is out 24 miles (39 km) south-southwest of downtown Chicago in Bremen Township. Per the 2020 census, the population was 27,478.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Oak Forest.
Orland Park next door grades higher for schools (A− to Oak Forest’s C+) and lower for cost of living (D to C).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Forest | #193 | A− | C | A− | C+ | A |
| Midlothian | #549 | C+ | C+ | C+ | C | B+ |
| Country Club Hills | #725 | D | C− | C− | C− | B− |
| Orland Park | #168 | A | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Markham | #732 | D | C+ | — | C− | C− |
Markham reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Oak Forest with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Oak Forest grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #193 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, A− for safety and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
2 notable people were born here, including Tom Vanderbilt and Lisa Joann Thompson.
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