Living in Evergreen Park, Illinois: homes, schools and costs

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 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood25 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 54.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town16 public schools: 14 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byOSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 8 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 Evergreen Park 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

Evergreen Park runs into the built-up area around Chicago (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.

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: $267,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Cook County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,420 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $95,719U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 85%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $6,152 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940: 12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 4%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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, not Evergreen Park 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: 19,2832020: 19,866
Median age: 38.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 43%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 1%U.S.: 6%

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 (29%); professional and business services (13%); finance, insurance and real estate (10%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 32 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center, Evergreen Park, IL, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

16 public schools in Evergreen Park, run by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299 and Evergreen Park ESD 124.

Colleges in or next to town: Saint Xavier 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: 80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 96%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: 20°F
July average high: 85°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 21 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 108 a year
Rain and melted snow: 40.9 inches a year
Snow: 39 inches a year
Elevation: 624 feet

Weather station: Chicago Midway Ap 3SW (4 miles 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

Oak Lawn, ILCity of 56,0003

Chicago, ILMetro of 9.4 million8

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: Oak Lawn, Chicago.

Cook 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Pullman National Historical Park5 miles
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument8 miles
Indiana Dunes National Park18 miles

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

Read about Evergreen Park's history on Wikipedia.

Know Evergreen Park?

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

Hometown, IL4,200 people, 2 miles
Merrionette Park, IL1,900 people, 3 miles
Alsip, IL18,500 people, 4 miles
Chicago Ridge, IL14,000 people, 4 miles
Calumet Park, IL6,800 people, 4 miles
Worth, IL10,700 people, 5 miles

Smaller places

Bedford Park, IL589 people, 5 miles
Forest View, IL763 people, 7 miles
McCook, IL240 people, 9 miles
Arbury Hills, IL (unincorporated)1,519 people, 15 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.