Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Willow Springs grades A overall, 102nd of 767 graded towns in Illinois. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. Residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $104K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $402K for a typical one and 4.4 times the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. Willow Springs's public schools beat 86% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. The biggest park or preserve is Buffalo Woods, at 80 acres. 18% of residents are under 18 in Willow Springs, where Illinois’ towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 22%.
Where Willow Springs beats most towns.
Where Willow Springs’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 Willow Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 378 in 1900, a low of 134 in 1920, 5,857 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 8 maps from 1890 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Willow Springs. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw16 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw17 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 Willow Springs, 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 Willow Springs.
That grade tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Lemont (A−) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
Willow Springs’ property crime rate comes in at 3.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Willow Springs | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In Willow Springs, a fifth of adults have been diagnosed with depression. The town does better than the Illinois average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. 14% of adults in Willow Springs report frequent mental distress; 19% binge drink.
| Willow Springs | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Willow Springs | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.3% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.2% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For households in Willow Springs, the share who own their home is 85%. Values rose 7.5% in the 12 months to September 2026. Also worth knowing: in Willow Springs, the rent at the middle of the market is $1,463 a month.
| Willow Springs | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,463 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
For most workers, Willow Springs is a place to come home to: only 2% work in town. Among residents in the town, 4.1% live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Chicago (29%), Burr Ridge (3%) and Downers Grove (2%). Willow Springs’ average commute stands at 28 minutes.
| Willow Springs | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $104,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.1% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Count the trails in 10 parks and preserves and they come to 1.4 miles. The concentration of trails in Willow Springs is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Willow Springs | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buffalo Woods | 0.4 mi | 80 |
| 2. Columbia Woods | — | 72 |
| 3. Willow Springs Woods | — | 70 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 1996, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Willow Springs. Compared with 71% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is higher. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 67% come from inland flooding and 16% from cold waves. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Expect July afternoons of 84° and January nights of 17°, with about 42 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Willow Springs: 21% of residents are 65 or older. Age groups here sit within 4 points of the Illinois average. Among adults 25 and older, 38% have a four-year degree or more, against 38% across Illinois.
| Willow Springs | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.7 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Willow Springs | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.7% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.3% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.5% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.2% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.4% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.4% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
25 within 15 miles of the center of Willow Springs
About 5 of every 100 Willow Springs residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Willow Springs is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion extending into DuPage County. The village was founded in 1892 and was named for the springs along the Des Plaines River. In 2020, the population was 5,857.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Willow Springs.
Justice next door grades lower for schools (B− to Willow Springs’s A) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willow Springs | #102 | A | D | A | A | A |
| Burr Ridge | #80 | A | D− | A− | A | A |
| Hodgkins | — | — | B | D− | A | B |
| Downers Grove Township | #82 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Lemont Township | #25 | A+ | C | — | A− | A |
| Lemont | #13 | A+ | C | A− | A− | A+ |
| Justice | #608 | C | C | — | B− | B− |
| Lyons Township | #219 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
Hodgkins has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Downers Grove Township, Lemont Township, Justice and Lyons Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Willow Springs with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Willow Springs grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #102 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, A for safety and A 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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