Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Riverside earns an A+, ranked 23rd of 767 in Illinois. The median household earns $154K, residents are healthier than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and its schools rank ahead of 93% of Illinois towns. The exception is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 72% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Riverside, against 29% in Illinois’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Riverside is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 33 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns do better.
Where Riverside beats most towns.
Riverside Landscape Architecture District is one of 4 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,551 in 1900, 9,298 in 2020. The archive holds 27 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 8 maps from 1891 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Riverside is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Riverside. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw12 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw10 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 Riverside, 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 Riverside.
Riverside has less food insecurity than most of Illinois, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
At 6.2 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $564K) costs more against local pay than in 94% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Brookfield is next at $360K.
The typical Riverside home is worth about $564,000, up 8.6% in a year, 91% above the Illinois typical home. Riverside’s median rent is $1,484 a month.
| Riverside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,484 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 8.1% of its 6,975 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
12% of adults report frequent mental distress in Riverside. Riverside beats the Illinois average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 26% of adults have obesity in Riverside.
| Riverside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Riverside | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.3% | 7.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.1% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.2 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Zoo Woods, at 62 acres.
| Riverside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Zoo Woods | — | 62 |
| 2. Robinson Park | — | 6 |
| 3. Big Ball Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
28.3% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Riverside for work: only 4% work in town. The average trip to work in Riverside is 33 minutes. The top destinations are Chicago (39%), Maywood (2%) and Oak Brook (2%).
| Riverside | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $154,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.3% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.9% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
130 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 35 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1982, 130 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Riverside.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Riverside has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
57 within 15 miles of the center of Riverside
About 3 of every 100 Riverside residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Where Riverside’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in Riverside on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Riverside.
Village in Illinois, United States
Riverside is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population of the village was 9,298 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Chicago, located around 9 miles (14 km) west of downtown Chicago and 2 miles (3 km) outside city limits. A significant portion of the village is in the Riverside Landscape Architecture District, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Riverside.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | #23 | A+ | C− | B+ | A | A+ |
| Lyons | #618 | C | C | — | D | B |
| Riverside Township | #74 | A | D | — | A | A |
| North Riverside | #439 | B | C | D | A | B+ |
| Lyons Township | #219 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Brookfield | #18 | A+ | C− | A | A | A |
Lyons, Riverside Township and Lyons Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Riverside with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Riverside grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #23 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. That is 6.2 years of the area's median household income ($90,887 across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
8 notable people were born here, including Dana Rettke and Judy Baar Topinka.
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