Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Steger grades C− overall, 649th of 767 graded towns in Illinois, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. On the other side, its public schools trail 86% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. On civic life, just 89 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns do worse. Steger’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, above both the Illinois town median (26 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes).
Where Steger beats most towns.
Where Steger’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Steger is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 712 in 1900, 9,584 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1891 and 5 maps from 1930 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Steger. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw22 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw28 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 Steger, 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 Steger.
Steger has homes that are cheap against local pay and sends most of its workers to Chicago and beyond, but it has little public open land.
At 1.9 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $171K) costs less against local pay than in 82% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
The typical Steger home is worth about $171,000, down 1.8% in a year, 42% below the Illinois typical home. 64% of Steger households own their home.
| Steger | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,076 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Steger beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 24% of adults worry about having enough food in Steger.
| Steger | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 13% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Steger | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 7.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.2% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Steger has 1,020 jobs for its 4,304 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 1,551 in 2013 to 1,020.
Most working residents leave Steger for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Steger has lost 531 jobs, to 1,020 in 2023. The median household income in Steger is $67,000.
| Steger | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Steger’s property crime rate is 17.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Steger | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Steger.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Steger has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Just 21 of its 2,165 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Steger itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 12 |
| 2. Hecht Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
5 within 15 miles of the center of Steger
About 3 of every 100 Steger residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
3 notable people were born in Steger.
Village in Illinois, United States
Steger is a village in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. It is 35 miles (56 km) south of Chicago and had a population of 9,584 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Steger.
Crete next door grades higher for schools (C+ to Steger’s D) and lower for cost of living (C to B).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steger | #649 | C− | B | C | D | C− |
| Crete | #515 | C+ | C | B− | C+ | B− |
| South Chicago Heights | #688 | D | B | C− | C− | C− |
| Sauk Village | #735 | D | B− | C | D | D |
| Bloom Township | #663 | C− | C+ | — | C− | C |
| Crete Township | #538 | C+ | C+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Chicago Heights | #724 | D | B− | D− | C | C |
Bloom Township and Crete Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Steger with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Steger grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #649 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health, C for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 1.9 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 B.
3 notable people were born here, including Clara Penniman and John Holecek.
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