Evening Prayer, 2011
Vernon Hills’s story
175 years in pictures
Census counts: 123 in 1960, 26,850 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2011 and 7 maps from 1900 on.
- 1851Vernon Hills is settled
Population
26,825
2025 Census estimate · −0.1% since 2020
Typical home
$456K
+5.9% in a year
Household income
$122K
median
Median age
41.8
years
Jobs based here
19,500
A job hub
TownGrade
A
#108 of 767 in IL
Is Vernon Hills a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Vernon Hills grades A overall, ranked 108th of 767 in Illinois. Residents are healthier than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its public schools beat 95% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation and the median household earns $122K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $456K, 5 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 68% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Vernon Hills, above both the Illinois town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Only 73 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on hazard risk. Vernon Hills is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns.
What makes Vernon Hills stand out
Where Vernon Hills beats most towns.
32 measures vs. Illinois
23 better9 too close to call0 worse
| Widest gap | Vernon Hills | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8% | 15.9% |
HealthA+
Beats IL on 23 of 32 CDC measures, trails it on none
Less healthyHealthier
CDC PLACES 2025 estimates.
WalkabilityA−
More walkable than 85% of U.S. towns
3.6% of workers walk, bike or ride transit
EPA National Walkability Index; Census ACS.
A job hub
Every workday, about 18,648 people come to Vernon Hills for work
Where Vernon Hills’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
19,500jobs based in Vernon Hills
7%of working residents work in town
12 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Vernon Hills grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Vernon Hills is from typical.
HealthAdvocate Condell Medical Center 2.8 miles awayA+Open →SchoolsA+Open →Jobs & income19,500 jobs based hereAOpen →Cost of livingDOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 9.2 of 20; 5.7% of households have no carA−Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listA−Open →SafetyBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors6 miles of trails; 12% conserved landAOpen →History3 notable people born hereDOpen →Civic life2.1 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsBOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market$456K typical home, up 5.9% in a year; 47 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 41.8–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 189 attractions →Wrigley Field and 150 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vernon Hills. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw9 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
Big draw37 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaUnited CenterSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · 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
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Vernon Hills: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vernon Hills, and how to reach them.
PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterVernon Hills - Lake Co PwNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpBy addressTown’s hauler · day by addressTown site
SchoolsHawthorn Community Consolidated School District 73Libertyville Community High School District 128Adlai E. Stevenson High School District 1253 districts serve Vernon Hills; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereLake County ClerkLake County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2024
ZIP code6006160061 100%Census 2020
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 Vernon Hills.
Vernon Hills carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Illinois (mostly inland flooding) and draws workers from Chicago and beyond, but it reports more crime than Lincolnshire and its other graded neighbors.
HealthA+
Compared with most of Illinois and the rest of the country, fewer of Vernon Hills’ adults report frequent physical distress
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 8% of its 20,318 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
In Vernon Hills, 16% of adults get no exercise outside work. Only 9 of the 767 Illinois towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Vernon Hills.
97%healthier than U.S. townsA+Health Grade
| Vernon Hills | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 13% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 22% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 13% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
23 better9 too close to call0 worse
| What stands out | Vernon Hills | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.1% | 7.8% |
Advocate Condell Medical Center
2.8 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
96th
percentile among IL towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsA
Vernon Hills has set aside 11.9% of its land for conservation
There are 6.2 miles of trail across 31 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Century Park, at 112 acres. For Vernon Hills, the concentration of trails is 0.8 miles per square mile.
#166for trails in IL
11.9%
conserved · 603 of 5,054 acres
6.2 mi
of trails · 0.8 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hawthorn Club Park | 0.4 mi | 10 |
| 2. Vernon Hills Memorial Arbortheater | 0.3 mi | 16 |
| 3. Carriage Green Park | 0.3 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
Vernon Hills sends most of its workers out of town
19,500 jobs are based in Vernon Hills, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 29.3% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Vernon Hills for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (17%), Libertyville Township (4%) and Lincolnshire (4%). For half of commuters, work is under 12 miles away. The share of residents in Vernon Hills who live below the poverty line: 6.1%.
7%work in town
| Vernon Hills | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $122,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.1% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Vernon Hills7%
Chicago17%
Libertyville Township4%
Lincolnshire4%
Libertyville4%
12 mi
median commute distance
19,500
jobs based in Vernon Hills
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
A−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HousingCost of living grade D
Vernon Hills’ grade for cost of living is a D
For Vernon Hills, the median rent is $1,903 a month. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 5.9% in value. Also worth knowing: homes sold in Vernon Hills spent a median 47 days on the market.
$456KZillow home value
Typical home value
Vernon Hills$456K
Illinois$296K
Market temperature
47
days on market
100.3%
sale-to-list price
+5.9%
value change, 1 year
28
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A−
Vernon Hills has a very low natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 92% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $256 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2006, one flood insurance claim has been paid in the town. In Vernon Hills, the FEMA risk score is 18 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 55% come from inland flooding and 20% from tornadoes.
18risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
1
paid flood claims since 2006
5
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
34″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter19–34°
Spring38–57°
Summer61–81°
Fall43–61°
Oct 21
typical first frost
Apr 26
typical last frost
+1.2°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
SafetyB
Less crime per resident in Vernon Hills than in 56% of U.S. towns
Vernon Hills is safe by national standards, yet each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Lincolnshire (B+) to Buffalo Grove (A−). At 16.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 57% of Illinois’s graded towns.
Vernon Hills’ level of violent crime comes in at 0.7 per 1,000 residents. The rate of thefts and burglaries in the town is 10.5 per 1,000 residents.
56%of U.S. towns report more crimeBSafety Grade
| Vernon Hills | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Vernon Hills0.7
Illinois2.6
U.S.3.3
Property crime per 1,000 residents
Vernon Hills10.5
Illinois15.6
U.S.15.5
56th
percentile among U.S. towns we grade
43rd
percentile among IL towns
19
violent crimes reported in 2025
284
property crimes reported in 2025
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Vernon Hills
20pages on Vernon Hills
The big questions
SchoolsA+Beat 95% of IL districtsSafetyB0.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents (2025)HealthA+Better than IL on 23 of 32 CDC measuresCost of livingD$456K typical home · up 5.9% in a yearWork & commuteA$122K median household income · 19,500 jobs hereNatural hazardsA−FEMA risk higher than 18% of U.S. communities · inland flooding
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
7 within 15 miles of the center of Vernon Hills
University of Saint Mary of the LakeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Mundelein3.8 miTrinity International University-IllinoisUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Deerfield4.8 mi$12,320 tuitionCollege of Lake CountyCommunity college · Public · Grayslake8.7 mi$4,788 in-state tuition
About 6 of every 100 Vernon Hills residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Get outside
6 miles of trails in Vernon Hills
11.9% of the town is conserved land, across 31 parks and preserves.
1
Hawthorn Club Park0.4 mi of trails · 10 acres
Trails © OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Famous people from Vernon Hills
3 notable people were born in Vernon Hills.
_-_Chicago,_IL_-_June_2026.jpg){kind=link}
About Vernon Hills
Village in Illinois, United States
Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,000 at the 2020 census. Vernon Hills serves as a retail hub for its surrounding area (Libertyville, Lake Forest, Mundelein, Long Grove, Lincolnshire and Buffalo Grove).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1851
- Area
- 7.9 sq mi
- ZIP code
- 60061
Vernon Hills’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Vernon Hills.
MundeleinBuffalo GroveMettawaLincolnshireLibertyvilleIndian CreekLong GroveVernon Hills
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Hills | #108 | A | D | B | A+ | A+ |
| Mundelein | #142 | A | C− | A− | B+ | A− |
| Buffalo Grove | #31 | A+ | C− | A− | A | A+ |
| Mettawa | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lincolnshire | #66 | A | D | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Libertyville | #7 | A+ | C− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Indian Creek | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Long Grove | #44 | A+ | D | — | A+ | A+ |
Long Grove reports no FBI crime data of its own. Mettawa and Indian Creek aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Vernon Hills with a neighbor →
Questions about Vernon Hills
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Vernon Hills, IL a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Vernon Hills grades A overall, better than 91% of U.S. towns and #108 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A+ for health, B for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Vernon Hills, IL expensive?
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.
What is Vernon Hills, IL known for?
3 notable people were born here, including David Simon and DaVaris Daniels.