Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,570, settled in 1835.
For most people who can afford it, yes. West Dundee grades A− overall, 240th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. It has 10 miles of trail. The median household earns $105K and it is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $425K, 4.7 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. West Dundee’s trail density is 2.5 miles per square mile, where Illinois’ towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Only 120 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on hazard risk. Randall Oaks Park, at 260 acres with 7.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where West Dundee beats most towns.
14.2% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far West Dundee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 585 in 1880, 7,686 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2025 and 6 maps from 1925 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Dundee. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw27 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
24 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw40 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a year
23 mi MuseumMcDonald's #1 Store MuseumWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Allstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0 · McDonald's #1 Store Museum: Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Dundee, 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 West Dundee.
West Dundee carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Illinois (mostly inland flooding), is one of Illinois’s best towns for the outdoors and is safe by national standards but not by Illinois’s.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #21 of 768 in Illinois.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Randall Oaks Park | 7.5 mi | 260 |
| 2. South End Park | 0.4 mi | 8 |
| 3. Prairie Meadow Park | 0.2 mi | 28 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 10.1% of its 6,171 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
28% of adults have high blood pressure in West Dundee, below both Illinois’ towns (35%) and U.S. towns (35%). 20% of West Dundee adults binge drink. West Dundee beats the Illinois average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| West Dundee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | West Dundee | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 15.9% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 10.3% |
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 $256 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
West Dundee’s FEMA risk score is 11 of 100. Since 1986, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Dundee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $9,002, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
52% of households own their home in West Dundee. The typical West Dundee home is worth about $425,000, up 3.7% in a year, 44% above the Illinois typical home. The median rent in West Dundee is $1,666 a month.
| West Dundee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,666 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave West Dundee for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, West Dundee has lost 254 jobs, to 2,636 in 2023. The top destinations are Elgin (13%), Chicago (10%) and Schaumburg (6%).
| West Dundee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.3% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $105,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.9% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
West Dundee has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 14° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 52% of Illinois’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
5 within 15 miles of the center of West Dundee
About 5 of every 100 West Dundee residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Where West Dundee’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Village in Illinois, United States
West Dundee is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,686 as of the 2020 US Census. It is considered a far northwest Chicago suburb. West Dundee lies across the Fox River from East Dundee and Carpentersville.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with West Dundee.
Elgin next door grades lower for schools (C+ to West Dundee’s B+) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Dundee | #240 | A− | D | B | B+ | A |
| Elgin | #526 | C+ | C | B− | C+ | B |
| Sleepy Hollow | #14 | A+ | C | A+ | B+ | A |
| Carpentersville | #309 | B+ | C+ | B+ | B+ | B− |
| East Dundee | #467 | B− | C− | C | B+ | B+ |
| Gilberts | #112 | A | C− | A+ | B+ | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. West Dundee grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #240 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, B 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.
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