City · Will County, Illinois

Lockport, Illinois

Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area. It has 26,409 residents. Lockport, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 74 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,078 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #134 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), injury deaths (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on average commute time (high), effective property tax rate (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

74High

Quality-of-life score: #4,078 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #134 of 697 in IL
Population: 26,409 (2020-2024)
Land area: 12 mi²
Density: 2,246.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 1744225

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety84#2,514/15,637
Economy82#2,807/15,631
Housing56#6,555/14,977
Health84#2,519/15,609
Healthcare60#6,319/15,650
Environment15#13,158/15,453
Education80#3,164/15,649
Infrastructure77#3,622/15,650
Community63#5,780/15,651
Leisure & amenities29#11,067/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low8.0 /100k
89/100Illinois 14.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWill County value
Injury deaths · low59 /100k
89/100Illinois 80 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWill County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low7 mi
86/100Illinois 13 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWill County value
Job growth · high1.7%
86/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataWill County value
Lack of reliable transportation · low5.9%
85/100Illinois 8.4%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low3.0%
85/100Illinois 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Weaknesses

Average commute time · high35.3 min
4/100Illinois 27.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Effective property tax rate · high2.02%
7/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Preventable hospital stays · high3,941 /100k
10/100Illinois 3,343 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWill County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.0 µg/m³
14/100Illinois 8.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWill County value
Social associations · low6.8 /10k
18/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWill County value
High ozone days · high3 days
21/100Illinois 5 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWill County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
3.4 /1k (2021) → 7.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+130%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
36.1% (2015-2019) → 44.5% (2020-2024)
+8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
32.0% (2015-2019) → 37.1% (2020-2024)
+5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$90,475 (2015-2019) → $111,981 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
90.6% (2015-2019) → 94.4% (2020-2024)
+3.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
5.7% (2015-2019) → 9.2% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Lockport, Illinois improved on 5 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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.

Improved5

Property tax−0.8 points2.84% → 2.01%
Bachelor's++8.4 points36.1% → 44.5%
Uninsured−2 points5.0% → 3.0%
Household income+24%$90,475 → $111,981
Broadband+3.8 points90.6% → 94.4%

Declined1

Inequality+0.0450.370 → 0.416

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Lockport, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	36.1 min2015-2019	35.3 min2020-2024	−0.8 min	Within the margin of error	57%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.1%2015-2019	44.5%2020-2024	+8.4 points	Improved	85%
Broadband subscriptions	90.6%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Improved	24%
Child poverty rate	5.7%2015-2019	9.2%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Effective property tax rate	2.84%2015-2019	2.01%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Improved	98%
High school diploma or higher	95.4%2015-2019	97.3%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	72%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3702015-2019	0.4162020-2024	+0.045	Declined	19%
Median household income	$90,4752015-2019	$111,9812020-2024	+24%	Improved	41%
Poverty rate	5.8%2015-2019	6.8%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Public transit commuters	3.2%2015-2019	2.0%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Rent as share of income	32.0%2015-2019	37.1%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent-burdened households	56.2%2015-2019	54.6%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Unemployment rate	3.4%2015-2019	4.7%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.0%2015-2019	3.0%2020-2024	−2 points	Improved	69%

“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 Lockport, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lockport, 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, Lockport, Illinois itself moved −1.7 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

26,409 residents (±45)

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

9,903 households (±334)

Lockport, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k7.8%775
$25k–50k11%1,051
$50k–75k13%1,280

Homes

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

Owners and renters

9,903 households (±334)

Lockport, Illinois
Illinois share

Own85%8,380
Rent15%1,523

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

14,338 workers (±560)

Lockport, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone78%11,234
Carpool3.8%†538
Public transit2.0%†293

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 Will County, the county holding most of Lockport's residents.

Will County has 17,085 employer establishments, 243 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Illinois's), with 267,545 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,858. The Census Bureau also counts 64,479 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 17,085; 64,479 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 243; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 267,545
Average annual pay: $55,858; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	1,669	23.7	1.14×About typical	16,017	$68,827	2,722
Truck transportation	1,429	20.3	4.01×More than typical	9,309	$60,505	5,200
Specialty trade contractors	1,328	18.9	1.22×About typical	12,643	$90,890	3,291
Restaurants and other eating places	1,129	16	0.87×About typical	22,596	$21,103	289
Offices of other health practitioners	697	9.9	1.63×More than typical	4,967	$61,057	1,256
Services to buildings and dwellings	592	8.4	1.25×About typical	5,613	$57,177	2,523
Limited-service restaurants	567	8.1	1.00×About typical	11,758	$19,077	119
Lessors of real estate	520	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	1,444	$54,774	5,696
Construction of buildings	482	6.8	0.91×About typical	1,815	$70,187	1,663
Automotive repair and maintenance	478	6.8	1.35×More than typical	2,828	$50,044	910
Building equipment contractors	472	6.7	1.11×About typical	4,952	$94,102	722
Offices of physicians	436	6.2	0.96×About typical	3,635	$115,660	374

Rank places for an industry Open Will County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 703,872 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 $1.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lockport, Illinois: $57.46 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.5M; −56% vs FY2025
Per resident: $57.46; US $1,994
Sole-source: 28%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.2%; 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

Department of the Army$1.4M91%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$83.3K5.5%
Defense Logistics Agency$46K3.0%
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acquisition and Property Management Division$8,7490.6%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

3.3MFY2017
2.4MFY2018
2.6MFY2019
3MFY2020
678.8KFY2021
204.4KFY2022
1.4MFY2023
868.7K

Top industries (NAICS)

Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211$715.1K47%
Hardware manufacturing · 3325$263.2K17%
Deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes water transportation · 4831$193.8K13%
Facilities support services · 5612$111.1K7.3%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$110.8K7.3%
Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359

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 Lockport, Illinois, so they do not add up across cities.

Lockport, Illinois's figures are part of those of Will County, IL ($154.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Will 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.

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

House

County

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

Will County77100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN66

Other cities and towns in Will 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/1744225

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends