Metro area · Illinois
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is a metropolitan area of 13 counties in Illinois, Indiana, home to 9,434,123 residents. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area has a quality-of-life score of 66 out of 100 (high), ranking #312 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Illinois it ranks #9 of 28. It ranks best on public transit commuters (high), distance to an emergency room (low) and access to exercise opportunities (high). It ranks worst on days with unhealthy air (high), effective property tax rate (high) and average commute time (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #312 of 925 metro and micro areas
- Illinois
- #9 of 28 in IL
- Population
- 9,434,123 (2025)
- Land area
- 6,923 mi²
- Density
- 1,362.7 /mi²
- CBSA code
- 16980
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.
- Safety37#578/924
- Economy78#203/925
- Housing22#720/925
- Health94#58/925
- Healthcare87#119/923
- Environment3#894/917
- Education80#185/925
- Infrastructure78#206/925
- Community53#431/925
- Leisure & amenities74#237/925
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Public transit commuters · high7.5%
- Distance to an emergency room · low3.0 mi99/100Illinois 4.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAggregated from counties
- Access to exercise opportunities · high96.7%98/100Illinois 90.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Average weekly wage · high$1,606
- Suicide rate · low10.1 /100k95/100Illinois 11.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
- Frequent mental distress · low15.6%95/100Illinois 18.7%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Weaknesses
- Days with unhealthy air · high8.8%
- Effective property tax rate · high1.83%
- Average commute time · high30.3 min
- Median Air Quality Index · high56
- High ozone days · high6 days5/100Illinois 5 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.9 µg/m³9/100Illinois 8.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Drought exposureImproving
25% (2021) → 11% (Nov 2025–Oct 2026)
−14 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
30.3 /100k (2021) → 14.1 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−54%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- Homicide rateImproving
13.6 /100k (2021) → 7.2 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−47%5 yearsUS 7.8 /100k → 4.8 /100k
- Firearm deathsImproving
17.1 /100k (2021) → 10.3 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−40%5 yearsUS 14.7 /100k → 12.1 /100k
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.3% (2015-2019) → 91.9% (2020-2024)
+7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
24.6% (Dec 2021) → 32.1% (Aug 2026)
+7.4 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
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.
Metro and micro areas like Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
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.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Counties in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.
- Cook CountyCentral county555,194,625
- DuPage CountyCentral county91934,298
- Lake CountyCentral county86719,339
- Will CountyCentral county77712,253
- Kane CountyCentral county70525,757
- Lake CountyCentral county39504,612
- McHenry CountyCentral county85317,751
- Porter CountyCentral county74176,049
- Kendall CountyCentral county76145,470
- DeKalb CountyOutlying county61101,835
- Grundy CountyOutlying county7754,052
- Jasper CountyOutlying county6533,894
- Newton CountyOutlying county3514,188
States
The share of the area's residents living in each state.
Principal cities
The cities the area is named for.
Largest cities and towns
By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.
- Chicago2,711,226
- Aurora179,898
- Naperville150,692
- Joliet150,445
- Elgin114,934
- Waukegan89,076
- Cicero82,797
- Schaumburg76,868
- Hammond76,768
- Evanston76,340
- Arlington Heights76,005
- Bolingbrook74,096
- Gary68,113
- Palatine66,293
- Skokie66,219
- Des Plaines59,156
- Orland Park57,916
- Oak Lawn56,861
- Berwyn55,595
- Mount Prospect55,472
- Tinley Park54,842
- Wheaton53,557
- Oak Park53,292
- Hoffman Estates51,175
Other metro and micro areas in Illinois
Areas based in Illinois, best score first.
- Peoria, IL71
- Rockford, IL39
- Champaign-Urbana, IL72
- Springfield, IL79
- Bloomington, IL90
- Ottawa, IL57
- Kankakee, IL43
- Decatur, IL51
- Quincy, IL-MO83
- Danville, IL27
- Marion-Herrin, IL58
- Sterling, IL60
- Carbondale, IL44
- Rochelle, IL72
- Galesburg, IL35
- Charleston-Mattoon, IL49
- Effingham, IL88
- Freeport, IL58
- Jacksonville, IL52
- Centralia, IL34
- Mount Vernon, IL33
- Pontiac, IL59
- Taylorville, IL46
- Dixon, IL69
Neighboring metro and micro areas
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar metro and micro areas
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD73Alike on Density, Weekly wage, Suicides
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ68Alike on Exercise access, Dentists, Mental distress
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI61Alike on Exercise access, Dentists, Intl. migration
- Trenton-Princeton, NJ77Alike on ER distance, Price level, Exercise access
- Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI73Alike on Exercise access, Dentists, Some college
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-10-06
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08