Thursday, August 20, 2015

23 of the Best Illinois Towns to Raise a Family

Illinoisans looking for a place to settle down and raise a family can turn to the plethora of living options Illinois has to offer. Our state has many towns and cities for families interested in finding the best environments for their children. Niche recently reviewed 4,264 towns to determine which are the best-suited for families when taking nine main factors into consideration:


  1. Crime & Safety: Niche's Crime & Safety Grade, which incorporates statistics that capture a location's general safety.
  2. Education: Niche's Education Grade, which incorporates the average Niche K-12 overall grade for every public school serving the area, where each school is weighted by the number of students it serves.
  3. Access to Libraries: A measure of both the proximity (per square mile) and the availability (per capita) of libraries.
  4. Community: Niche's Community Grade, which incorporates statistics that capture an area's involvement and investment in the community.
  5. Housing: Niche's Housing Grade, which incorporates statistics that capture how good an area is to purchase a home.
  6. Residents 35-44 Years Old: Percentage of residents between the ages of 35 and 44.
  7. Residents 9 Years Old and Under: Percentage of residents between the ages of 0 and 9.
  8. Access to Day Cares: A measure of both the proximity (per square mile) and the availability (per capita) of day care services.
  9. Access to Grocery Stores: A measure of both the proximity (per square mile) and the availability (per capita) of grocery stores.

Note that the qualifying "towns" analyzed include suburbs and cities with populations under 100,000. The following are 23 of the 37 best Illinois towns to raise a family, according to Niche.

37. Canton (central Illinois)

Population: 14,646

2015-08-20-1440088416-8764676-canton.PNG

36. Du Quoin (southern Illinois)

Population: 6,063

2015-08-20-1440088445-7224678-duquoin.PNG

35. Rantoul (eastern Illinois)

Population: 12,958

2015-08-20-1440088467-4274271-rantoul.PNG

34. Ottawa (north central Illinois)

Population: 19,116

2015-08-20-1440088491-6136823-ottawa.PNG

33. Charleston (eastern Illinois)

Population: 22,048

2015-08-20-1440088523-3388499-charleston.PNG

32. Harvard (northern Illinois)

Population: 9,023

2015-08-20-1440088550-735736-harvard.PNG

31. Jerseyville (southwest Illinois)

Population: 8,553

2015-08-20-1440088577-6983803-jerseyville.PNG

30. Macomb (western Illinois)

Population: 19,267

2015-08-20-1440088598-8229870-macomb.PNG

29. Morris (northeast Illinois)

Population: 14,019

2015-08-20-1440088620-6728047-morris.PNG

28. Wilmington (northeast Illinois)

Population: 6,028

2015-08-20-1440088644-8009355-wilmington.PNG

27. Fairfield (southeast Illinois)

Population: 5,372

2015-08-20-1440088675-9070640-fairfield.PNG

26. Peru (north central Illinois)

Population: 10,188

2015-08-20-1440088700-29042-peru.PNG

25. Sterling (northwest Illinois)

Population: 15,314

2015-08-20-1440088723-9909723-sterling.PNG

24. Greenville (southwest Illinois)

Population: 6,881

2015-08-20-1440088747-1725041-greenville.PNG

23. Flora (southeast Illinois)

Population: 5,077

2015-08-20-1440088769-4544690-flora.PNG

22. Marion (southern Illinois)

Population: 17,282

2015-08-20-1440088794-2113189-marion.PNG

21. Pinckneyville (southwest Illinois)

Population: 5,622

2015-08-20-1440088816-1815431-pinckneyville.PNG

20. Chester (southwest Illinois)

Population: 8,521

2015-08-20-1440088838-5983135-chester.PNG

19. Bloomington (central Illinois)

Population: 77,293

2015-08-20-1440088865-1288789-bloomington.PNG

18. Braidwood (northeast Illinois)

Population: 6,033

2015-08-20-1440088898-8381359-braidwood.PNG

17. LaSalle (north central Illinois)

Population: 9,551

2015-08-20-1440088920-2219962-lasalle.PNG

16. Hampshire (northern Illinois)

Population: 6,108

2015-08-20-1440088947-5093305-hampshire.PNG

15. Mendota (north central Illinois)

Population: 7,314

2015-08-20-1440088971-6599881-mendota.PNG

Images courtesy of Niche.com. 

To see the top 14 best Illinois counties to raise a family, including Skokie and Arlington Heights, check out Reboot Illinois.


NEXT ARTICLE: 50 safest cities in Illinois


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