Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety14#13,400/15,637
Economy34#10,337/15,631
Housing43#8,603/14,977
Health49#7,985/15,609
Healthcare64#5,645/15,650
Environment7#14,286/15,453
Education23#12,001/15,649
Infrastructure50#7,797/15,650
Community38#9,748/15,651
Leisure & amenities74#4,027/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Burnham, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cook County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an emergency room · low2.1 mi
99/100Illinois 4.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCook County value
Public transit commuters · high9.4%
97/100Illinois 5.8%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Access to exercise opportunities · high99.1%
96/100Illinois 90.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCook County value
Distance to an airport · low9 mi
94/100Illinois 35 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCook County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,740
94/100Illinois $1,539United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCook County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
92/100Illinois 13 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCook County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.19%
5/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Food insecurity · high33.4%
6/100Illinois 16.5%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Days with unhealthy air · high6.8%
6/100Illinois 4.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCook County value
Homicide rate · high10.8 /100k
7/100Illinois 6.2 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCook County value
Lack of reliable transportation · high15.6%
8/100Illinois 8.4%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Violent crime rate · high534 /100k
9/100Illinois 251 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Cook County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
4,158 (2015-2019) → 3,937 (2020-2024)
−5.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
19.7% (2015-2019) → 31.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
48.9% (2015-2019) → 60.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.7% (2015-2019) → 92.6% (2020-2024)
+7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 2.8× (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$46,394 (2015-2019) → $57,790 (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Burnham, Illinois improved on 0 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 14 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Burnham, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	38.4 min2015-2019	36.9 min2020-2024	−1.6 min	Within the margin of error	66%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.8%2015-2019	15.1%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Broadband subscriptions	85.7%2015-2019	92.6%2020-2024	+7 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Child poverty rate	19.7%2015-2019	31.4%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Effective property tax rate	3.20%2015-2019	2.19%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	99%
High school diploma or higher	86.1%2015-2019	83.7%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4272015-2019	0.3762020-2024	−0.051	Within the margin of error	84%
Median household income	$46,3942015-2019	$57,7902020-2024	+25%	Within the margin of error	43%
Poverty rate	17.1%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent as share of income	29.5%2015-2019	33.3%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Rent-burdened households	48.9%2015-2019	60.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Unemployment rate	11.9%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.4%2015-2019	13.4%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	26%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Burnham, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Burnham, Illinois in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Burnham, Illinois itself moved −4.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,937 residents (±26)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 60–69 men (+3.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,937 residents (±26)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

White9.4%†370
Black64%2,504
Hispanic or Latino26%1,014

Education

2,776 residents (±202)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

No high school diploma16%†452
High school or GED28%767
Some college30%825

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,449 households (±193)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k17%†248
$25k–50k26%†379
$50k–75k18%†262
$75k–100k12%†175
$100k–150k22%†315
$150k–200k3.0%†43
$200k or more1.9%†27

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−11.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,449 households (±193)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

Own58%840
Rent42%609

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

606 households (±137)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00013%†76
$1,000–1,50071%†429

Home values

840 homes (±220)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $150k43%357
$150k–250k45%†381
$250k–400k9.4%†79

Age of homes

1,607 homes (±174)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

2010 or later4.3%†69
2000–20091.9%†31
1980–199928%†451

Size of homes

1,607 homes (±174)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

Studio0.5%†8
1 bedroom13%†209
2 bedrooms24%382

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,586 workers (±255)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone68%1,078
Carpool4.2%†67
Public transit9.4%†149
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home14%†225
Other4.2%†67

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+12.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,361 workers (±267)

Burnham, Illinois
Illinois share

Under 15 min24%†333
15–29 min29%†394
30–44 min16%†219

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Cook County, the county holding most of Burnham's residents.

Cook County has 134,513 employer establishments, 262 for every 10,000 residents (1.05× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Illinois's), with 2,492,328 paid employees at an average annual pay of $83,113. The Census Bureau also counts 578,139 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 134,513; 578,139 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 262; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 2,492,328
Average annual pay: $83,113; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Cook County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	12,255	23.8	1.14×About typical	120,830	$73,746	26,012
Restaurants and other eating places	10,283	20	1.09×About typical	175,761	$29,528	3,209
Truck transportation	6,896	13.4	2.65×More than typical	35,576	$58,890	37,659
Specialty trade contractors	6,308	12.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	51,795	$91,576	24,041
Lessors of real estate	6,106	11.9	0.96×About typical	36,481	$90,793	47,456
Limited-service restaurants	4,656	9.1	1.13×About typical	71,531	$23,650	1,099
Management, scientific and technical consulting	4,501	8.8	1.30×More than typical	78,036	$144,574	20,774
Full-service restaurants	4,330	8.4	1.10×About typical	87,914	$35,009	1,468
Legal services	4,152	8.1	1.50×More than typical	39,614	$166,701	6,046
Construction of buildings	4,132	8	1.06×About typical	19,598	$98,127	22,202
Offices of other health practitioners	4,034	7.8	1.29×More than typical	22,664	$51,319	10,130
Offices of physicians	3,409	6.6	1.02×About typical	42,167	$110,011	4,357

Rank places for an industry Open Cook County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,142,853 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $56.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Burnham, Illinois: $14.31 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $56.3K; −91% vs FY2025
Per resident: $14.31; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.1%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Environmental Protection Agency$39.7K71%
Department of the Army$12.4K22%
Defense Logistics Agency$4,2017.5%

Top recipients

EA ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY, INC., PBC$39.7K71%
ALL AMERICAN FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION LLC$12.4K22%
RYAN JERON LOGISTICS LLC$4,2017.5%
AVERY & PRYOR CONSTRUCTION LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

62.1KFY2017
-1.2KFY2018
2.3KFY2019
193.2FY2020
3.4KFY2021
509KFY2022
342.1KFY2023
12.6KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$39.7K71%
Other specialty trade contractors · 2389$12.4K22%
Hardware manufacturing · 3325$2,6014.6%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$8101.4%
Spring and wire product manufacturing · 3326$6401.1%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$149

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Burnham, Illinois, so they do not add up across cities.

Burnham, Illinois's figures are part of those of Cook County, IL ($4B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Burnham is mostly in Cook County.

See federal money in Cook County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Burnham, Illinois is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).