South Chicago HeightsIL
The town was settled in 1910 and has 3,884 residents today.
Trash day: TuesdayIs South Chicago Heights a good place to live?
Several subjects drag its grade down. Safety is its weak spot: it reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, including 16 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Schools are weaker too: its public schools trail 80% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. At about $166K, a typical home costs 1.8 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Its standout strength is walkability: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 86% of U.S. towns. The overall grade comes out at D, 688th of 767 in Illinois. On that grade it does better than 14% of U.S. towns. Only 72 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on history.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
What makes South Chicago Heights stand out
Where South Chicago Heights beats most towns.
How South Chicago Heights grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far South Chicago Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Soldier Field and 144 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Chicago Heights. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw21 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw27 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearPhoto credits
Soldier 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
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Moving to South Chicago Heights: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in South Chicago Heights, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in South Chicago Heights.
South Chicago Heights carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Illinois (mostly cold waves), has homes that are cheap against local pay and trades workers with Chicago and other neighbors.
The FEMA risk score in South Chicago Heights is lower than in most of Illinois or the rest of the country
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 99% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $399 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
35% of South Chicago Heights’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 27%. Flood insurance has paid one claim in the town since 2003. Federal aid has come to South Chicago Heights households in 8 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For safety, South Chicago Heights earns a C−
South Chicago Heights’ level of property crime is 25.4 per 1,000 residents. In South Chicago Heights, the level of violent crime is 4.1 per 1,000 residents.
| South Chicago Heights | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
For cost of living, South Chicago Heights earns a B
At 1.8 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $166K) costs less against local pay than in 85% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. 68.2% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 47.9% across Illinois.
The typical home value in the town is about $166,000, about the same as a year ago, 44% below the Illinois typical home. South Chicago Heights: 61% of households live in a home they own. The going rate for rent for South Chicago Heights comes to $1,196 a month.
| South Chicago Heights | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,196 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
A larger share of adults 18 to 64 in South Chicago Heights have no health insurance than in the typical Illinois or U.S. town
For adults in South Chicago Heights, the share who had a checkup this year is 76%. 32% of South Chicago Heights adults worry about having enough food, where Illinois’ towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 14%. Two figures for adults locally: 28% say their health is fair or poor, 32% get no exercise outside work. Of 32 CDC measures, South Chicago Heights beats the Illinois average on 1 and trails it on 19.
| South Chicago Heights | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 13% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 18% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | South Chicago Heights | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 7.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 19.9% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
South Chicago Heights: four seasons and pleasant summers
The range runs from 17° on a January night to 84° on a July afternoon, with about 28 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For most of its workers, the job is outside South Chicago Heights
South Chicago Heights has about as many jobs (1,684) as working residents, but only 78 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 21.4 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Among 768 Illinois towns, just 8 have a higher share of residents below the poverty line than South Chicago Heights. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 4% of working residents work locally. South Chicago Heights’ median household income stands at $59,000. Employers in South Chicago Heights added 203 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,684.
| South Chicago Heights | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 31% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.5% | 8.4% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Open space protected for good: 3.3% of South Chicago Heights
The biggest park or preserve is Sauk Trail Forest Preserve, at 210 acres. South Chicago Heights has 2 parks and preserves, 213 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sauk Trail Forest Preserve | — | 210 |
| 2. Jackson Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about South Chicago Heights
Colleges nearby
7 within 15 miles of the center of South Chicago Heights
About 4 of every 100 South Chicago Heights residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About South Chicago Heights
Village in Illinois, United States
South Chicago Heights is a village and a south suburb in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,026 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.5 sq mi
- Area code
- 708
South Chicago Heights’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with South Chicago Heights.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Chicago Heights | #688 | D | B | C− | C− | C− |
| Steger | #649 | C− | B | C | D | C− |
| Chicago Heights | #724 | D | B− | D− | C | C |
Questions about South Chicago Heights
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is South Chicago Heights, IL a good place to live?
South Chicago Heights grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #688 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is South Chicago Heights, IL expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.