Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Skokie's standout: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades B−, 465th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 87% of the country and it has 10 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $427K for a typical one and 4.7 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Skokie’s property crime rate is 25.5 per 1,000 residents, above both Illinois’ towns (7.9) and U.S. towns (9.9). Skokie is home to Hebrew Theological College. Skokie's schools rank ahead of 68% of Illinois towns.
Where Skokie beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Skokie | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.7% | 7.8% |
Census counts: 529 in 1900, 67,824 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 6 maps from 1899 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Skokie is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 9%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Skokie. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw19 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw12 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearWrigley 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 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Skokie, 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 Skokie.
Skokie has a long record of flood insurance claims, but it has property taxes 1.5 times the Illinois norm.
Across 49 parks and preserves: 9.8 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park, at 44 acres. The trail network density for Skokie comes to 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Skokie | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.5% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Emily Oaks Nature Center | 0.8 mi | 16 |
| 2. Skokie Sports Park | 0.7 mi | 35 |
| 3. Laramie Park | 0.7 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
One in ten adults smoke cigarettes in Skokie. In Skokie, 13% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 17% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Skokie | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 22% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Skokie | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.7% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults with obesity | 25.1% | 34% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $8,048, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Homes in Skokie are typically worth about $427,000, up 7.9% in a year, 44% above the Illinois typical home. Its going rate for rent is $1,552 a month. Bidding over the asking price: half of homes sold here.
| Skokie | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,552 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The violent crime rate in Skokie is 1.5 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Half the trips to work are shorter than 10 miles. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Skokie rose by 8,011, to 40,363. The share of workers in Skokie who work from home: 20%. The top destinations are Chicago (36%), Evanston (8%) and Glenview (2%).
| Skokie | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 20% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
240 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 25 properties have flooded more than once.
The national flood insurance program has paid 240 claims in Skokie since 1979. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage here than in 60% of U.S. communities. Just over two fifths of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 30%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Skokie after 9 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
38 within 15 miles of the center of Skokie
About 6 of every 100 Skokie residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
2 colleges in town.
5 places in Skokie on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Skokie.
Village in Illinois, US
Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of Chicago's downtown Loop. The name Skokie comes from a Potawatomi word for 'marsh'. For many years, Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Skokie's streets, like that of many suburbs, are largely a continuation of the Chicago street grid, and the village is served by the Chicago Transit Authority by both bus and rail, further cementing its connection to the city. Skokie was originally a German-Luxembourger farming community, but was later settled by a sizeable Jewish population, es…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Skokie.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skokie | #465 | B− | D | C− | B+ | A |
| Niles Township | #290 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Morton Grove | #239 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Evanston | #419 | B | D− | C− | A− | A+ |
| Lincolnwood | #368 | B | D− | C+ | A− | A |
| Chicago | #676 | C− | C− | D | C | B+ |
| Niles | #381 | B | C− | C+ | B+ | A− |
| New Trier Township | #45 | A+ | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
Niles Township and New Trier Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Skokie with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Skokie grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #465 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, C− for safety and B+ 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.
19 notable people were born here, including Erin Heatherton and Jessy Schram.
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