Village · DeKalb County, Illinois

Kirkland, Illinois

Kirkland is a village in DeKalb County, Illinois, part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area. It has 1,525 residents. Kirkland, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 53 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,341 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #292 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), rent as share of income (low) and hospital quality rating (high). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), primary care shortage (high) and primary care physicians (low).

53Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,341 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #292 of 697 in IL
Population: 1,525 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,212.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1740156

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety56#6,873/15,637
Economy67#5,147/15,631
Housing78#3,350/14,977
Health65#5,461/15,609
Healthcare42#9,017/15,650
Environment51#7,579/15,453
Education35#10,219/15,649
Infrastructure43#8,922/15,650
Community41#9,194/15,651
Leisure & amenities39#9,494/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Kirkland, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “DeKalb 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

Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.313
99/100Illinois 0.481United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Rent as share of income · low14.4%
97/100Illinois 29.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Hospital quality rating · high4.5
94/100Illinois 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDeKalb County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.0×
92/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Injury deaths · low61 /100k
87/100Illinois 80 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeKalb County value
Flu vaccinations · high52.0%
83/100Illinois 48.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeKalb County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.45%
2/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Illinois 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDeKalb County value
Primary care physicians · low27 /100k
10/100Illinois 82 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeKalb County value
Child care cost burden · high39.1%
11/100Illinois 30.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeKalb County value
Dental care shortage · high17.0
12/100Illinois 4.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDeKalb County value
Average commute time · high33.7 min
13/100Illinois 27.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,845 (2015-2019) → 1,525 (2020-2024)
−17%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
38.1% (2015-2019) → 24.5% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$65,313 (2015-2019) → $94,338 (2020-2024)
+44%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeImproving
22.9% (2015-2019) → 14.4% (2020-2024)
−8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.9% (2015-2019) → 93.3% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Unemployment rateImproving
8.4% (2015-2019) → 3.1% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Kirkland, Illinois improved on 3 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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.

Improved3

Rent / income−8.5 points22.9% → 14.4%
Household income+44%$65,313 → $94,338
Broadband+6.5 points86.9% → 93.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Kirkland, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	36.3 min2015-2019	33.7 min2020-2024	−2.6 min	Within the margin of error	76%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.7%2015-2019	20.9%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Broadband subscriptions	86.9%2015-2019	93.3%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Improved	40%
Effective property tax rate	2.94%2015-2019	2.45%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	90%
High school diploma or higher	88.4%2015-2019	93.2%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	85%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3482015-2019	0.3132020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$65,3132015-2019	$94,3382020-2024	+44%	Improved	79%
Poverty rate	11.4%2015-2019	6.8%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.9%2015-2019	14.4%2020-2024	−8.5 points	Improved	91%

“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 Kirkland, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kirkland, 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, Kirkland, Illinois itself moved +5.8 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,525 residents (±197)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

615 households (±80)

Kirkland, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k5.7%†35
$25k–50k15%†95
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

615 households (±80)

Kirkland, Illinois
Illinois share

Own73%452
Rent27%†163

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

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

891 workers (±159)

Kirkland, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone81%723
Carpool8.5%†76
Public transit0.0%0

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 DeKalb County, the county holding most of Kirkland's residents.

DeKalb County has 1,975 employer establishments, 197 for every 10,000 residents (0.79× the US rate of 248; 0.77× Illinois's), with 29,129 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,676. The Census Bureau also counts 6,858 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,975; 6,858 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 197; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 29,129
Average annual pay: $51,676; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	173	17.3	1.12×About typical	1,000	$81,859	457
Restaurants and other eating places	159	15.9	0.86×About typical	2,812	$18,886	29
Ambulatory health care services	157	15.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,530	$78,271	246
Limited-service restaurants	84	8.4	1.05×About typical	1,600	$17,687	12
Building equipment contractors	67	6.7	1.11×About typical	381	$93,782	91
Truck transportation	64	6.4	1.26×More than typical	260	$60,912	169
Religious organizations	62	6.2	1.12×About typical	357	$21,092	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	62	6.2	0.92×About typical	315	$44,124	371
Full-service restaurants	61	6.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	1,022	$20,806	9
Offices of other health practitioners	58	5.8	0.95×About typical	330	$48,967	124
Automotive repair and maintenance	56	5.6	1.11×About typical	355	$42,039	88
Lessors of real estate	52	5.2	0.42×Fewer than typical	229	$48,611	595

Rank places for an industry Open DeKalb County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 100,131 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in DeKalb 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.

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

House

Senate

Richard J. DurbinD-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

DeKalb County60100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN66

Other cities and towns in DeKalb County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1740156

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends