Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Park Ridge is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, ranked 30th of 767 in Illinois. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 98% of the country, the median household earns $143K, and its schools outperform 88% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $593K for a typical one and 6.5 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 66% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Park Ridge, against 29% in Illinois’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 21 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score higher on walkability. Park Ridge has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Pickwick Theater Building and Illinois Industrial School for Girls.
Where Park Ridge beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Park Ridge is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 457 in 1880, 39,656 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 7 maps from 1900 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Park Ridge. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
2 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw21 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaRate FieldWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Park Ridge, 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 Park Ridge.
Park Ridge reports less crime than Des Plaines or any other graded neighbor and trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois.
At 6.5 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $593K) costs more against local pay than in 95% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Rosemont is next at $400K.
The median rent in Park Ridge is $1,537 a month. Typical home values rose 9.7% in the year to September 2026. 85% of Park Ridge households own their home.
| Park Ridge | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,537 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 85% | 75% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 44% | 46% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7.8 miles of trail in 24 parks and preserves. Park Ridge’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile. Dam Number 4 North Preserve, at 151 acres with 1.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Park Ridge | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dam Number 4 North Preserve | 1.6 mi | 151 |
| 2. Centennial Park | 0.7 mi | 20 |
| 3. Maine Park | 0.7 mi | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is tooth loss: 4.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.3% statewide. Its A+ for health tops all 7 graded neighbors; Maine Township (A) comes closest.
25% of adults have obesity in Park Ridge. Park Ridge beats the Illinois average on 23 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.7% of adults have diabetes in Park Ridge.
| Park Ridge | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Park Ridge | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.7% | 10.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its B+ tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; Des Plaines (B) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 333 to 270 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Park Ridge has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Park Ridge has about as many jobs (17,594) as working residents, but only 1,733 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Park Ridge for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (33%), Des Plaines (4%) and Schaumburg (2%).
| Park Ridge | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $143,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 24% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
104 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 17 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 104 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Park Ridge.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
41 within 15 miles of the center of Park Ridge
About 4 of every 100 Park Ridge residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
2 places in Park Ridge on the National Register of Historic Places.
45 notable people were born in Park Ridge.
City in Illinois, United States
Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a northwestern suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is located 15 miles (24 km) north of downtown Chicago. It is close to O'Hare International Airport, major expressways, and rail transportation. It borders three community areas of Chicago in its Far Northwest Side: Edison Park, Norwood Park, and O'Hare. The soil is abundant with clay deposits, which made it a brick-making center for the developing city of Chicago. Park Ridge was originally called Pennyville to honor George Penny, the businessman who owned the local brickyard along with Robert Meacham. Later it was named Brickton. The Des Plaines River divides Park Rid…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Park Ridge.
At #30 in IL, it grades higher overall than all 7 graded towns on its borders; Norwood Park Township (A) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Ridge | #30 | A+ | C− | B+ | A | A+ |
| Chicago | #676 | C− | C− | D | C | B+ |
| Maine Township | #176 | A− | D | — | A− | A |
| Niles | #381 | B | C− | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Des Plaines | #197 | A− | C− | B | A− | A |
| Norwood Park Township | #133 | A | C− | — | A− | A |
| Leyden Township | #543 | C+ | C | — | C− | B |
| Rosemont | #471 | B− | C | D− | B+ | B+ |
Maine Township, Norwood Park Township and Leyden Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Park Ridge with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Park Ridge grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #30 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 C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
45 notable people were born here, including Karen Black and Gary Cole.
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