Springfield, the state capital · Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0How Illinois stacks up
Few states have towns as safe as Campton Hills and Pingree Grove, and few of those also have cities like Chicago, Rockford and Springfield, where reported crime ranks in the top quarter nationally; Illinois has both. Illinois ranks 20th overall, with a B and a score of 62. Its strengths are schools that rank 16th on the Nation’s Report Card and widespread home ownership; its weak spots, long commutes and $5,298 property-tax bills (70% above the national figure).
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
12th of 51A−78/100 Safe overall, with a sharp divide. Pingree Grove and Western Springs rank among the best towns in the country for safety; Chicago and Rockford sit in the bottom quarter. At 258 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, Illinois sits 21st lowest among the states. Campton Hills ranks #4 of 3,410 U.S. towns for safety.
With property crime counted (property + 4 × violent), it places 24th lowest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 196 Illinois towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally. Covers 55% of residents of Illinois’s 10,000+ towns.
Two very different kinds of town
Most states with towns this safe have few at the other end; New Hampshire and Rhode Island have almost none. Property crime, not violence, explains Evergreen Park: it reports less violent crime than the typical U.S. town. Homer Glen leads its towns at #54 of 3,410 nationally, with Manhattan close behind.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| Illinois | 27% | 44% |
Read the town figures with care
Our town measure uses the crime each local police department reports to the FBI; towns without enough of the last three years are left out. In Illinois, 55% of residents of 10,000+ towns are covered. Eleven towns have too few years reported, among them Bloomington, Highland Park and Galesburg. Wheeling Township, Thornton Township and Downers Grove Township are among 151 places that report no crime of their own; county or state police patrol them, and their crimes aren’t counted by town. Among its neighbors, Kentucky counts the most (98%) and Indiana the least (42%).
Schools
9th of 51A−84/100 Strong schools overall, unusually split. The gap between towns is wide: 45% of residents live in bottom-quarter places like Chicago. 33% of students test Proficient on the Nation’s Report Card (16th highest) and 88% graduate on time (19th highest).
Graduation: 87.6% finish high school on time (class of 2023), 19th highest. The grade weighs test results and graduation equally.
Per-pupil spending, $21,567 (12th highest), is shown for context and not graded.
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 358 Illinois towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally.
Cost of living
37th of 51C28/100 Costs run high. Compared with $3,119 nationally, the typical tax bill here is $5,298. Its tax bills rank 6th highest, its home prices against income 10th lowest. Town by town it does better than the statewide number.
Against income, home values rank 10th lowest: 3.2 times the median household’s.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 358 Illinois towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
17th of 51B+68/100 Slightly better health than average. Western Springs ranks #6 of 5,218 U.S. towns for health. Illinois ranks 25th lowest for adults in fair or poor health, at 19%. It leads its neighbors on health, ahead of Iowa.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 357 Illinois towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally.
Housing
14th of 51B+74/100 More homeowners than most states. Campton Hills is the best towns in the country for home ownership. Illinois ranks 22nd lowest for home ownership, at 67% of homes. Its towns beat the statewide figure.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 358 Illinois towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
22nd of 51B58/100 A bit less exposed than most. Expect inland flooding above all; it makes up 78% of FEMA’s estimate. Compared with $155 nationally, FEMA expects $123 a year in damage per $100,000 of buildings here. Town by town it lands near the middle, with North Chicago its best at #41 of 5,239.
Five federal major-disaster declarations since 2015, 10th fewest.
Behind the figure: inland flooding 78%, tornado 10%, earthquake 8% of FEMA’s expected losses.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 358 Illinois towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
44th of 51D14/100 Time to work runs long. At 27.8 minutes, the average commute is the 9th longest among the states. Big places drag it down: Chicago and Naperville rank in the national bottom quarter. Every neighbor scores higher, Wisconsin, Indiana and Kentucky among them.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 358 Illinois towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
50th of 51D−2/100 Barely growing. The population fell 0.1% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, against 7.4% nationally (3rd slowest). One town stands apart: Pingree Grove, #38 in the country, while nearly every other larger town sits lower. It trails all of its neighbors on growth.
Building: 1.6 new homes permitted per 1,000 residents in 2025, fewest.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 357 Illinois towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How Illinois compares to its neighbors
Next to Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Iowa, it comes out ahead on health and behind on cost of living, the commute and growth.
| Illinois | Wisconsin | Indiana | Kentucky | Missouri | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | B 6220th of 51 | A 944th of 51 | A+ 982nd of 51 | A− 8210th of 51 | B 6021st of 51 |
| Safety | A− 7821st official · 27% in top towns | B+ 7219th official · 15% in top towns | B+ 6625th official · 20% in top towns | A− 809th official · 10% in top towns | C+ 4441st official · 9% in top towns |
| Schools | A− 8416th official · 29% in top towns | A+ 968th official · 31% in top towns | A 927th official · 38% in top towns | A− 7829th official · 16% in top towns | B 6238th official · 13% in top towns |
| Cost of living | C 2846th official · 14% in top towns | B− 4836th official · 32% in top towns | A 9410th official · 69% in top towns | A 908th official · 33% in top towns | A 8616th official · 54% in top towns |
| Health | B+ 6825th official · 30% in top towns | B 5615th official · 11% in top towns | C 2639th official · 10% in top towns | D 1244th official · 3% in top towns | C− 1838th official · 7% in top towns |
| Housing | B+ 7430th official · 23% in top towns | B− 4822nd official · 7% in top towns | A 8612th official · 13% in top towns | C 3420th official · 4% in top towns | B+ 7021st official · 13% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | B 5819th official · 12% in top towns | A 945th official · 74% in top towns | B+ 7213th official · 21% in top towns | C+ 4039th official · 7% in top towns | C+ 3832nd official · 1% in top towns |
| Commute | D 1443rd official · 13% in top towns | A− 8011th official · 53% in top towns | B 5621st official · 35% in top towns | B+ 6820th official · 40% in top towns | B 6217th official · 32% in top towns |
| Growth | D− 249th official · 2% in top towns | C+ 3635th official · 18% in top towns | B− 4830th official · 21% in top towns | C 3234th official · 15% in top towns | C 2840th official · 15% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work