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Towns / Illinois

DeKalb, Illinois

DeKalb is a college town of about 40,000 people in DeKalb County, Illinois. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Chicago, is about 55 miles away as the crow flies.

College town

Population
40,467
up 0.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$204,700
DeKalb County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$46,481
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Chicago area
103.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital
To Chicago
55 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.6% above the U.S. average in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood108 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 21.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town10 public schools: 6 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byNorthwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 55 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 DeKalb 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

College town. About 1 in 4 residents is a college student, with Northern Illinois 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
$204,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%DeKalb County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,029 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$46,481U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
42%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,607 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
103.6U.S. average = 100 (the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, not DeKalb 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
40,4672020: 40,242
Median age
26.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%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
15%U.S.: 6%
College students
26%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 (28%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
10%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
25%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital, Dekalb, IL, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

10 public schools in DeKalb, run by DeKalb CUSD 428.

Colleges in or next to town: Northern Illinois University (10,000 to 19,999 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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
13°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
13 a year
Nights at or below freezing
141 a year
Rain and melted snow
37.2 inches a year
Snow
33 inches a year
Elevation
886 feet

Weather station: De Kalb (1 mile away). 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

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: Elgin, Chicago.

DeKalb County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, 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.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site38 miles
  • Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument58 miles

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

Read about DeKalb's history on Wikipedia.

Know DeKalb?

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

Smaller places

  • Virgil, IL284 people, 11 miles
  • Creston, IL637 people, 12 miles
  • Burlington, IL517 people, 13 miles
  • Shabbona, IL867 people, 13 miles
  • Kaneville, IL447 people, 13 miles
  • Lee, IL300 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.