Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Palatine grades A− overall, 194th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household earns $98K and its schools rank ahead of 76% of Illinois towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $390K, 4.3 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 51% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Palatine, above both the Illinois town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Palatine is home to William Rainey Harper College. Palatine is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns.
Where Palatine beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Palatine is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 731 in 1880, 67,908 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1988 and 7 maps from 1923 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palatine. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw33 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
11 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaUnited CenterWrigley 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 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palatine, 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 Palatine.
Palatine has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more, but it has property taxes 1.5 times the Illinois norm.
27% of Palatine adults have obesity. Palatine beats the Illinois average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 28% of Palatine adults have high blood pressure.
| Palatine | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 37% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Palatine | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.7% | 10.3% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.6% | 3.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
6.8 miles of trail in 32 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Margreth Reimer Reservoir, at 69 acres.
| Palatine | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Birchwood Park | 0.4 mi | 12 |
| 2. Community Park | 0.3 mi | 17 |
| 3. Margreth Reimer Reservoir | 0.2 mi | 69 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Palatine for work: only 8% work in town. 21% of workers work from home in Palatine. The top destinations are Chicago (16%), Schaumburg (6%) and Arlington Heights (5%).
| Palatine | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median property tax bill is $8,025, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Palatine’s median rent is $1,549 a month. Typical home values rose 6.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Palatine | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,549 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 676 to 512 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 56 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Palatine has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 61 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palatine.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
8 within 15 miles of the center of Palatine
About 5 of every 100 Palatine residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Where Palatine’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Palatine on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Palatine.
Village in Illinois, United States
Palatine () is a village in Cook and Lake counties, Illinois, United States. It is a predominantly residential suburb within the northwestern Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 67,908 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Palatine.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palatine | #194 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Rolling Meadows | #279 | A− | D | B− | A− | A |
| Inverness | #28 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Arlington Heights | #88 | A | D | B+ | A | A+ |
| Schaumburg | #233 | A− | D | C+ | A | A+ |
| Deer Park | #62 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Palatine Township | #203 | A− | D | — | A− | A+ |
| Wheeling Township | #199 | A− | D | — | A− | A |
Deer Park, Palatine Township and Wheeling Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Palatine with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Palatine grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #194 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.
10 notable people were born here, including Taylor Marie Hill and Christina Moore.
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