What is the #1 best cities for families in illinois?

#	City	Population	Family Score
1	Forest Park	14,000	84.90
2	Chicago	2,707,648	83.70
3	Oak Park	53,315	82.60
4	Oakbrook Terrace	2,714	81.90
5	Champaign	88,822	77.00
6	Evanston	76,552	76.80
7	Monee	5,104	76.10
8	Springfield	113,714	76.00
9	Matteson	18,681	75.80
10	Olympia Fields	4,636	75.70
11	Normal	52,908	75.00
12	Peoria Heights	5,834	74.90
13	Calumet Park	6,836	74.70
14	Peoria	112,126	73.90
15	Rosemont	4,145	73.80
16	DeKalb	40,464	73.00
17	Urbana	38,447	72.80
18	Lakemoor	5,878	71.10
19	Belleville	41,722	70.70
20	Bloomington	78,703	70.50
21	Calumet City	35,253	70.50
22	Morris	14,775	70.40
23	Fairview Heights	16,255	70.20
24	Fox Lake	10,872	70.20
25	Alton	25,430	70.00
26	Richton Park	12,576	70.00
27	Crest Hill	19,754	69.60
28	Rock Island	36,758	69.50
29	Crestwood	10,622	69.40
30	Havana	3,176	69.20
31	Staunton	4,307	69.20
32	Cherry Valley	3,268	69.00
33	Quincy	39,188	68.80
34	Burnham	3,978	68.80
35	Hodgkins	1,766	68.80
36	Blue Island	23,416	68.40
37	Milan	5,037	68.20
38	Southern View	1,838	68.10
39	Marion	16,796	68.10
40	Savanna	2,851	67.70
41	Bartonville	5,854	67.20
42	Alsip	18,650	67.20
43	Loves Park	23,185	67.20
44	Carbondale	21,813	67.20
45	Rockford	147,649	66.90
46	Zion	24,466	66.90
47	Decatur	70,368	66.60
48	Silvis	7,939	66.60
49	Lansing	28,415	66.50
50	Cairo	1,699	66.40
51	Bradley	15,331	66.30
52	Danville	28,663	66.20
53	Rochelle	9,477	66.00
54	East Dubuque	1,427	65.80
55	Lyons	10,391	65.70
56	Hometown	4,244	65.70
57	Rantoul	12,515	65.60
58	Nashville	2,991	65.60
59	East Dundee	3,156	65.20
60	Eureka	5,095	65.20
61	East St. Louis	18,278	65.10
62	Centralia	12,009	65.00
63	Pekin	31,812	65.00
64	Charleston	17,212	64.90
65	Merrionette Park	2,144	64.80
66	Rock Falls	8,683	64.70
67	Jacksonville	17,490	64.60
68	Park Forest	20,898	64.40
69	Broadview	7,898	64.30
70	Marissa	1,133	64.10
71	Glenwood	8,620	64.10
72	Manteno	8,942	64.10
73	Galesburg	29,653	64.00
74	Arthur	2,024	63.90
75	East Peoria	22,485	63.80
76	Chicago Ridge	14,147	63.80
77	Clinton	7,012	63.80
78	Willowbrook	9,138	63.70
79	North Riverside	7,495	63.60
80	Sterling	14,670	63.40
81	Thornton	1,876	63.20
82	Forreston	1,148	63.20
83	Granite City	26,670	63.20
84	El Paso	2,871	63.10
85	Creve Coeur	4,572	63.10
86	Mattoon	16,334	63.00
87	West Dundee	7,867	63.00
88	Carlinville	5,574	62.80
89	Maywood	23,173	62.70
90	Galena	2,899	62.70
91	Oakwood	1,243	62.70
92	Kankakee	24,384	62.50
93	South Beloit	7,930	62.40
94	Abingdon	3,424	62.20
95	Steger	9,449	62.10
96	Washington Park	1,728	62.10
97	Waukegan	88,919	62.10
98	South Holland	21,016	61.90
99	Collinsville	24,126	61.90
100	Chicago Heights	26,938	61.80
101	Westville	3,442	61.70
102	Moline	42,235	61.70
103	North Aurora	18,375	61.60
104	Gibson City	3,609	61.60
105	Anna	4,222	61.60
106	Harvey	19,831	61.50
107	Downers Grove	49,867	61.40
108	Eldorado	3,762	61.40
109	Fairfield	4,658	61.40
110	Carmi	4,879	61.30
111	Lombard	43,722	61.00
112	North Chicago	30,772	61.00
113	Country Club Hills	16,419	60.60
114	Wood River	10,315	60.60
115	Lisle	23,413	60.50
116	Bridgeview	16,721	60.50
117	Gillespie	3,118	60.40
118	Schaumburg	76,780	60.30
119	Bement	1,664	60.10
120	Lebanon	4,431	60.00
121	Murphysboro	6,804	60.00
122	Highland	10,268	60.00
123	Hoopeston	5,039	59.90
124	Gurnee	30,486	59.90
125	Richmond	2,530	59.90
126	Freeport	23,636	59.90
127	Virden	3,165	59.70
128	Riverton	3,506	59.60
129	Melrose Park	24,513	59.60
130	Schiller Park	11,454	59.60
131	Elmwood Park	23,982	59.60
132	Hillsboro	5,693	59.50
133	Tilton	2,537	59.40
134	Canton	13,408	59.40
135	Crete	8,382	59.40
136	Riverdale	10,515	59.30
137	Carterville	5,822	59.30
138	Joliet	149,785	59.30
139	Lincolnshire	7,937	59.30
140	Shawneetown	1,167	59.30
141	Ottawa	18,714	59.30
142	Oak Lawn	57,098	59.20
143	Hinckley	2,286	59.20
144	Neoga	1,248	59.10
145	Pontiac	11,483	59.10
146	Bethany	1,253	59.00
147	Prospect Heights	15,681	59.00
148	La Grange	15,999	58.90
149	Effingham	12,258	58.90
150	McHenry	27,774	58.90
151	Midlothian	14,024	58.80
152	Herrin	12,271	58.80
153	Countryside	6,294	58.80
154	Taylorville	11,149	58.70
155	Wenona	1,006	58.60
156	Markham	11,434	58.50
157	Salem	7,341	58.50
158	Shiloh	14,109	58.40
159	Carrollton	2,528	58.20
160	Westmont	24,201	58.10
161	Glenview	47,682	58.00
162	Dixon	15,166	58.00
163	Worth	10,731	57.90
164	Villa Park	22,456	57.80
165	South Jacksonville	3,255	57.80
166	Byron	3,742	57.60
167	Cambria	1,271	57.60
168	Litchfield	6,814	57.50
169	River Forest	11,489	57.40
170	Caseyville	4,170	57.40
171	South Chicago Heights	3,934	57.40
172	Robbins	4,956	57.40
173	Paxton	4,201	57.30
174	Mount Carroll	1,515	57.30
175	Streator	12,274	57.30
176	St. Charles	32,733	57.30
177	Bensenville	18,576	57.20
178	Rolling Meadows	23,981	57.20
179	Marengo	7,123	57.00
180	Flora	4,860	57.00
181	Metropolis	5,898	57.00
182	Hillside	8,133	57.00
183	Pecatonica	2,178	56.90
184	Marseilles	4,071	56.90
185	Farmer City	2,001	56.90
186	Athens	2,146	56.70
187	Elwood	2,141	56.70
188	Tuscola	4,675	56.60
189	Wauconda	14,010	56.50
190	East Moline	20,837	56.50
191	Chillicothe	6,185	56.40
192	Auburn	4,357	56.40
193	Elgin	114,106	56.30
194	East Hazel Crest	1,122	56.30
195	Olney	8,864	56.30
196	Pittsfield	4,422	56.30
197	South Elgin	23,984	56.10
198	Skokie	66,427	56.10
199	Fairmont City	2,354	56.00
200	Leland	1,102	56.00
201	Chatham	14,740	56.00
202	Aurora	179,867	55.90
203	Elk Grove Village	32,132	55.90
204	Peru	9,863	55.80
205	Mount Prospect	55,648	55.70
206	Hazel Crest	13,493	55.70
207	Watseka	4,630	55.60
208	East Alton	5,729	55.60
209	Oregon	3,821	55.50
210	Bloomingdale	22,388	55.50
211	Batavia	26,730	55.50
212	Paris	8,154	55.40
213	Winthrop Harbor	6,663	55.40
214	Roodhouse	1,662	55.40
215	Tinley Park	55,007	55.20
216	River Grove	10,482	54.90
217	Erie	1,658	54.80
218	Hartford	1,456	54.70
219	Homewood	19,471	54.60
220	Casey	2,258	54.40
221	Palos Hills	18,139	54.40
222	O'Fallon	32,139	54.10
223	Palatine	66,548	54.10
224	Mount Vernon	14,492	54.00
225	Wheeling	38,495	54.00
226	Sparta	4,070	53.90
227	Bellwood	18,373	53.90
228	Arlington Heights	76,220	53.90
229	Benld	1,535	53.80
230	Summit	10,896	53.70
231	Lincoln	13,406	53.50
232	Prairie Grove	1,992	53.50
233	Berkeley	5,222	53.40
234	Grandview	1,077	53.20
235	Libertyville	20,493	53.20
236	Oglesby	3,723	53.00
237	Energy	1,171	53.00
238	Washington	15,946	53.00
239	St. Anne	1,070	52.80
240	Momence	3,076	52.80
241	Wheaton	53,453	52.80
242	Barrington	11,049	52.80
243	Newton	2,852	52.80
244	St. Elmo	1,401	52.80
245	Warrensburg	1,076	52.70
246	Des Plaines	59,408	52.70
247	Robinson	7,005	52.70
248	Greenville	7,159	52.60
249	Cicero	83,223	52.40
250	Sauk Village	9,724	52.30
251	Streamwood	39,055	52.20
252	Brookfield	19,235	52.20
253	Park Ridge	39,241	52.10
254	Bolingbrook	73,813	52.10
255	Mahomet	9,755	52.00
256	Berwyn	55,888	52.00
257	Warrenville	14,232	52.00
258	Norridge	15,177	52.00
259	Hainesville	3,524	52.00
260	Greenup	1,678	52.00
261	Evergreen Park	19,498	51.90
262	Hickory Hills	14,718	51.80
263	Monmouth	8,794	51.70
264	Hamel	1,004	51.70
265	Riverside	9,079	51.50
266	Huntley	27,859	51.50
267	Shelbyville	4,248	51.40
268	Lincolnwood	13,179	51.30
269	Harwood Heights	8,851	51.30
270	Geneseo	6,577	51.30
271	Grayslake	20,707	51.20
272	Barry	1,442	51.20
273	Posen	5,331	51.10
274	Edwardsville	26,543	51.10
275	McCullom Lake	1,087	51.00
276	Godfrey	17,743	50.90
277	Hoffman Estates	51,186	50.90
278	Lake Villa	8,707	50.90
279	South Roxana	2,180	50.80
280	Shorewood	18,218	50.80
281	Romeoville	40,996	50.60
282	Moweaqua	2,093	50.50
283	Naperville	149,424	50.50
284	Woodstock	26,316	50.40
285	Belvidere	24,510	50.20
286	Williamsville	1,519	50.10
287	Roselle	22,731	50.10
288	West Chicago	25,434	50.10
289	Stockton	1,867	50.00
290	Waterloo	11,055	49.80
291	Crystal Lake	40,436	49.80
292	Jerseyville	7,432	49.70
293	Round Lake Park	7,833	49.60
294	Rushville	2,668	49.60
295	Woodridge	33,889	49.60
296	Burbank	28,822	49.40
297	Mount Morris	2,679	49.30
298	Altamont	2,500	49.20
299	Fulton	3,457	49.20
300	Carthage	2,508	49.20
301	Highwood	5,243	49.10
302	Elmhurst	45,538	49.10
303	Geneva	21,299	49.10
304	Zeigler	1,325	49.00
305	Trenton	2,673	49.00
306	Vernon Hills	26,772	48.70
307	Lockport	26,228	48.70
308	Addison	35,470	48.70
309	Bourbonnais	18,109	48.60
310	Island Lake	8,023	48.50
311	Breese	4,373	48.50
312	Grayville	1,515	48.50
313	Montgomery	21,205	48.50
314	Mokena	19,906	48.30
315	Christopher	2,413	48.30
316	Earlville	2,015	48.10
317	Nokomis	2,213	48.10
318	Maryville	8,280	48.10
319	Morrison	3,781	48.10
320	Leland Grove	1,595	48.00
321	Round Lake	18,588	47.90
322	Indian Head Park	3,992	47.90
323	Arcola	2,867	47.90
324	St. Jacob	1,617	47.80
325	Warsaw	1,511	47.80
326	Roscoe	10,881	47.80
327	Glen Ellyn	28,270	47.70
328	Franklin Park	18,233	47.60
329	Willow Springs	5,871	47.60
330	University Park	7,109	47.60
331	Highland Park	30,229	47.40
332	Winnetka	12,508	47.30
333	Morton	16,503	47.30
334	La Grange Park	13,227	47.30
335	Northlake	12,547	47.20
336	Bridgeport	1,819	47.20
337	Beardstown	6,047	47.10
338	Park City	7,631	47.10
339	Mount Carmel	6,892	47.00
340	Pinckneyville	5,055	47.00
341	Carol Stream	39,427	46.90
342	Forest View	1,022	46.80
343	Johnston City	3,351	46.70
344	Oak Forest	26,888	46.50
345	Chester	6,830	46.50
346	Genoa	5,685	46.50
347	Oak Brook	8,028	46.40
348	Marquette Heights	2,613	46.30
349	Burr Ridge	11,119	46.30
350	Westchester	16,524	46.30
351	Dupo	3,914	46.20
352	Winfield	9,982	46.20
353	Johnsburg	6,374	46.10
354	Glendale Heights	32,864	46.10
355	Harrisburg	8,608	46.00
356	Wood Dale	13,926	45.90
357	Palos Heights	11,817	45.90
358	Sumner	2,229	45.80
359	McLeansboro	2,750	45.80
360	Carlyle	3,134	45.70
361	Rossville	1,246	45.60
362	Lacon	1,768	45.50
363	Bethalto	9,244	45.50
364	Beecher	4,837	45.50
365	Yorkville	22,350	45.50
366	Plano	11,626	45.40
367	Mason City	2,094	45.10
368	Swansea	14,603	45.00
369	Harvard	9,875	44.90
370	Lake Zurich	19,727	44.80
371	Glen Carbon	13,521	44.60
372	Northfield	5,683	44.60
373	Gilman	1,576	44.50
374	Peotone	4,462	44.50
375	Seneca	2,525	44.30
376	Flossmoor	9,666	44.20
377	De Soto	1,701	44.20
378	Pana	5,277	44.10
379	Maroa	1,751	44.10
380	Cobden	1,064	44.10
381	Phoenix	1,284	44.10
382	Rockdale	2,598	43.90
383	Mundelein	31,632	43.80
384	Itasca	9,525	43.80
385	Braidwood	6,175	43.80
386	Sycamore	18,243	43.70
387	Girard	1,740	43.70
388	Northbrook	34,642	43.60
389	Lovington	1,120	43.50
390	Barrington Hills	3,923	43.50
391	Wilmette	27,550	43.50
392	Lake in the Hills	28,853	43.40
393	Darien	21,855	43.40
394	Hanover Park	36,850	43.30
395	Channahon	13,854	43.10
396	Orland Park	57,961	43.10
397	Lake Forest	19,190	43.00
398	Toluca	1,313	42.90
399	Columbia	11,063	42.90
400	Lemont	17,643	42.90
401	Algonquin	29,904	42.90
402	Deerfield	19,185	42.80
403	Niles	30,262	42.60
404	Mount Olive	1,979	42.50
405	Lakewood	4,699	42.20
406	Macomb	15,006	42.20
407	Carpentersville	37,544	42.20
408	Hinsdale	17,155	42.00
409	Plainfield	45,705	41.80
410	Vienna	2,115	41.70
411	Hampton	1,946	41.60
412	Antioch	14,751	41.60
413	Elburn	6,054	41.50
414	Jonesboro	1,912	41.50
415	Palos Park	4,832	41.30
416	Lawrenceville	4,241	41.30
417	Buffalo Grove	42,824	41.30
418	Delavan	1,600	40.80
419	Farmington	1,990	40.80
420	Marshall	3,987	40.80
421	Aledo	3,753	40.70
422	Catlin	2,161	40.70
423	New Lenox	27,456	40.70
424	Edinburg	1,163	40.50
425	Clarendon Hills	8,642	40.50
426	Mascoutah	8,743	40.50
427	Morton Grove	24,687	40.50
428	Royalton	1,076	40.50
429	Coal City	5,145	40.40
430	Jerome	1,910	40.30
431	Lake Bluff	5,834	40.30
432	LaSalle	9,471	40.20
433	Rochester	3,784	40.20
434	Hampshire	8,351	40.10
435	New Baden	3,493	40.00
436	Riverwoods	3,988	39.90
437	Lanark	1,510	39.80
438	Hebron	1,458	39.80
439	Manito	1,640	39.80
440	Vandalia	6,041	39.50
441	Cortland	4,556	39.50
442	Frankfort	20,417	39.40
443	Sandwich	7,121	39.30
444	Glencoe	8,715	39.30
445	Pontoon Beach	6,131	39.20
446	Sugar Grove	9,233	39.20
447	Lindenhurst	14,365	39.10
448	Round Lake Beach	27,081	39.10
449	Greenfield	1,137	39.10
450	Gilberts	8,389	39.10
451	North Pekin	1,647	39.00
452	Petersburg	2,590	39.00
453	Inverness	7,541	38.90
454	Knoxville	3,137	38.90
455	Herscher	1,302	38.90
456	Mendota	6,915	38.90
457	Bartlett	40,531	38.60
458	Winnebago	2,896	38.20
459	Beckemeyer	1,024	38.20
460	Manhattan	10,315	38.00
461	Justice	12,372	37.70
462	Maple Park	1,939	37.60
463	Western Springs	13,353	37.50
464	Amboy	2,396	37.50
465	Du Quoin	5,780	37.30
466	Sullivan	4,253	37.30
467	Bull Valley	1,121	37.30
468	Henry	2,478	37.30
469	Oswego	35,463	37.30
470	Rockton	8,238	37.30
471	Homer Glen	24,516	37.20
472	Homer	1,130	37.20
473	Spring Valley	5,508	37.00
474	Troy	10,889	36.90
475	Round Lake Heights	2,585	36.80
476	Germantown	1,268	36.80
477	Wayne	2,284	36.80
478	Spring Grove	5,866	36.80
479	Marine	1,181	36.60
480	Campton Hills	10,724	36.50
481	Prophetstown	1,828	36.50
482	Cary	17,875	36.20
483	Princeton	7,829	36.20
484	Malta	1,507	35.90
485	Minonk	1,909	35.90
486	Clifton	1,279	35.90
487	Orland Hills	6,758	35.90
488	Hudson	2,048	35.80
489	Minooka	12,632	35.70
490	Tremont	2,300	35.60
491	Heyworth	2,818	35.50
492	Assumption	1,117	35.40
493	Aviston	2,451	35.40
494	Stone Park	4,504	35.40
495	Divernon	1,262	35.10
496	Stickney	6,957	35.00
497	Diamond	2,900	35.00
498	Dwight	3,794	34.90
499	Oakwood Hills	2,454	34.50
500	Coal Valley	4,142	34.40
501	New Athens	1,937	34.40
502	Colona	5,189	34.10
503	Mackinaw	1,869	34.00
504	Milledgeville	1,199	34.00
505	White Hall	2,354	34.00
506	Sleepy Hollow	3,165	33.90
507	Le Roy	3,177	33.90
508	Grant Park	1,547	33.90
509	West Frankfort	7,156	33.60
510	Kenilworth	2,543	33.50
511	Kewanee	12,280	33.50
512	Kildeer	4,189	33.40
513	Franklin Grove	1,086	33.30
514	Bannockburn	1,125	33.30
515	Benton	7,076	33.20
516	Roxana	1,626	33.00
517	Somonauk	1,592	32.90
518	Carrier Mills	1,702	32.80
519	Hawthorn Woods	9,145	32.80
520	Warren	1,439	32.80
521	South Barrington	5,004	32.80
522	Kirkland	1,497	32.80
523	Tower Lakes	1,148	32.80
524	Wonder Lake	4,141	32.80
525	Fox River Grove	4,501	32.70
526	Pingree Grove	10,576	32.70
527	Ashland	1,001	32.70
528	Mount Pulaski	1,513	32.30
529	Kincaid	1,243	32.30
530	Mount Zion	6,076	32.20
531	Fairbury	3,683	32.20
532	Hamilton	2,738	31.60
533	Durand	1,485	31.60
534	Mazon	1,424	31.20
535	Polo	2,495	31.20
536	Chenoa	1,559	30.80
537	Fisher	1,600	30.70
538	Colchester	1,057	30.70
539	Sherman	4,211	30.50
540	New Berlin	1,366	30.50
541	Goreville	1,164	30.40
542	Tolono	3,546	30.10
543	Monticello	6,332	29.70
544	Bunker Hill	1,305	29.70
545	Millstadt	4,013	29.60
546	Ladd	1,393	29.10
547	Smithton	3,512	29.00
548	Albion	2,107	28.70
549	Palestine	1,396	28.60
550	Orion	1,849	28.50
551	Virginia	1,491	28.50
552	Freeburg	4,336	28.50
553	Elmwood	2,254	28.30
554	Okawville	1,312	27.90
555	Red Bud	3,789	27.90
556	Pawnee	2,706	27.80
557	Valmeyer	1,109	27.80
558	Camp Point	1,197	27.70
559	North Utica	1,215	27.50
560	La Harpe	1,085	27.40
561	Albers	1,428	27.20
562	Walnut	1,402	26.90
563	Martinsville	1,212	25.40
564	Brighton	2,536	25.30
565	Lexington	2,074	25.20
566	Toulon	1,390	25.00
567	Waterman	1,419	24.80
568	Sesser	1,919	23.90
569	Cambridge	2,184	23.80
570	Onarga	1,362	21.00
571	Waverly	1,456	20.80
572	Oblong	1,617	19.10
573	Raymond	1,065	17.90
574	Norris City	1,613	11.20
575	De Pue	1,594	9.50

Methodology

Cities in Illinois are ranked by family score. Only cities with populations above 1,000 are included. Data sourced from Multiple Sources. Last updated 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the #1 best cities for families in illinois?: Forest Park ranks #1 with 84.90 (family score).
What are the top 5 best cities for families in illinois?: 1. Forest Park (84.90), 2. Chicago (83.70), 3. Oak Park (82.60), 4. Oakbrook Terrace (81.90), 5. Champaign (77.00)
How many cities in Illinois are ranked?: This ranking includes 575 cities in Illinois with available data.

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