Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,488, settled in 1874.
Wadsworth grades B− overall, ranked 499th of 767 in Illinois, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $143K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $463K for a typical one and 5.1 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Wadsworth’s median household income is $143,000, against $83,000 in Illinois’ towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Wadsworth Savanna Forest Preserve, at 393 acres. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 72% of U.S. towns.
Where Wadsworth beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Wadsworth | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.3% | 15.9% |
Where Wadsworth’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 Wadsworth is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 64 in 1880, 3,517 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1959 and 4 maps from 1906 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wadsworth. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
31 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
40 mi TheatreSteppenwolf Theatre Company
28 mi MuseumMcDonald's #1 Store Museum
38 mi Park & preserveLincoln ParkSix Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Steppenwolf Theatre Company: victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · McDonald's #1 Store Museum: Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Lincoln Park: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wadsworth, 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 Wadsworth.
Wadsworth carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Illinois (mostly inland flooding), costs more than Gurnee or any other town next door and has less food insecurity than most of Illinois.
Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Gurnee is next at $381K. The median property tax bill is $9,233, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
93% of households own their home in Wadsworth. Typical home values rose 6.7% in the year to September 2026. Wadsworth’s median rent is $994 a month.
| Wadsworth | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $994 a month | $1,129 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: 9.3% of its 2,856 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide. Against the 3,344 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wadsworth’s, it is less healthy than 51%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
14% of Wadsworth adults report frequent mental distress. Wadsworth beats the Illinois average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 29% of Wadsworth adults feel lonely.
| Wadsworth | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Wadsworth | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.3% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.8% | 7.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 97% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $633 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Wadsworth is 12 of 100. Since 2004, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wadsworth.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Waukegan Savanna Forest Preserve | 3.4 mi | 208 |
| 2. Wadsworth Savanna Forest Preserve | — | 393 |
| 3. Sedge Meadow Forest Preserve | — | 299 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Wadsworth for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Wadsworth grew to 836 in 2023, 65 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Waukegan (11%), Chicago (9%) and Gurnee (7%).
| Wadsworth | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 12% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Wadsworth has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 15° and about 43 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median household earns $142,738, against $83,390 across Illinois, one input to its B for jobs and income.
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (17% statewide). 47% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Wadsworth | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 38.5 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Among residents 75 and older, 63% are men (IL 41%).
| Wadsworth | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.4% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.3% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.1% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.9% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.6% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.4% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.9% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.9% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.8% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.5% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,500, single groups can be off by several points
8 within 15 miles of the center of Wadsworth
About 6 of every 100 Wadsworth residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Wadsworth is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 3,517. It is named after E. S. Wadsworth, who was a major stockholder for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, which passes through the village.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Wadsworth.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadsworth | #499 | B− | C | — | C | A |
| Zion · Zion Township | #698 | D | C+ | C | D | C |
| Newport Township | #443 | B | C− | — | B | B+ |
| Beach Park | #606 | C | C+ | — | D | B− |
| Benton Township | #643 | C− | C | — | C− | C+ |
| Waukegan | #639 | C− | C+ | C | C | C |
| Gurnee | #450 | B− | C− | C | B− | A |
| Warren Township | #362 | B+ | C− | — | B− | A |
Wadsworth, Newport Township, Beach Park, Benton Township and Warren Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Zion Township and Zion are one community, graded once. Compare Wadsworth with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wadsworth grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #499 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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