Living in Bourbonnais, Illinois: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.6% below the U.S. average in the Kankakee metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood30 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town7 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byRiverside Medical Center in Kankakee, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 46 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bourbonnais meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Bourbonnais runs into the built-up area around Kankakee (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

College town. About 1 in 7 residents is a college student, with Olivet Nazarene University in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $253,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 18%Kankakee County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,269 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $81,708U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 73%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $5,568 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 96.4U.S. average = 100 (the Kankakee metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Kankakee metro area, not Bourbonnais alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 17,6582020: 18,097
Median age: 35.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 34%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%U.S.: 6%
College students: 15%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (27%); retail (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 10%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Riverside Medical Center, Kankakee, IL, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

7 public schools in Bourbonnais, run by Bourbonnais SD 53 and Bradley Bourbonnais CHSD 307.

Colleges in or next to town: Olivet Nazarene University (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Illinois's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 16°F
July average high: 85°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 21 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 129 a year
Rain and melted snow: 39 inches a year
Snow: 27 inches a year
Elevation: 697 feet

Weather stations: Kankakee Metro Wastewater (3 miles away) and Bourbonnais 3NW (3 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Riverside Medical CenterEmergency room4

Tinley Park, ILCity of 55,00027

Chicago, ILMetro of 9.4 million46

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Riverside Medical Center, Tinley Park, Chicago.

Kankakee County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including Durham-Perry Farmstead.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Indiana Dunes National Park32 miles
Pullman National Historical Park37 miles
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument46 miles

Campus life. Check Olivet Nazarene University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Bourbonnais's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bourbonnais?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Bradley, IL15,200 people, 2 miles
Manteno, IL9,200 people, 5 miles
Limestone, IL1,500 people, 6 miles
Kankakee, IL23,000 people, 6 miles
Peotone, IL4,200 people, 11 miles
Momence, IL3,200 people, 11 miles

Smaller places

Aroma Park, IL647 people, 8 miles
Sun River Terrace, IL481 people, 9 miles
Bonfield, IL338 people, 9 miles
Sammons Point, IL223 people, 10 miles
Symerton, IL124 people, 13 miles
Custer Park, IL (unincorporated)459 people, 14 miles
Rest Haven, IL (unincorporated)455 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.