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Kankakee, Illinois

Kankakee is a small town of about 23,000 people in Kankakee County, Illinois. It's the county seat. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 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 52 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
23,400
down 2.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$104,900
Kankakee County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$47,514
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Kankakee area
96.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Presence St. Marys Hospital
To Chicago
52 mi
straight line

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 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Kankakee itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town12 public schools: 8 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byPresence St. Marys Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 52 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 Kankakee 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$104,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Kankakee County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,023 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$47,514U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
51%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,054 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 Kankakee 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
23,4002020: 23,996
Median age
36.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (28%); manufacturing (17%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%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: Presence St. Marys Hospital, Kankakee, IL, in town. 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

12 public schools in Kankakee, run by Kankakee SD 111 and Bradley SD 61.

Colleges in or next to town: Kankakee Community College (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
71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
85%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
41.7 inches a year
Snow
21 inches a year
Elevation
620 feet

Weather station: Kankakee Metro Wastewater (3 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

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: Joliet, 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

10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Kankakee State Hospital Historic District and the Riverview Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Indiana Dunes National Park35 miles
  • Pullman National Historical Park42 miles
  • Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument51 miles

Read about Kankakee's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kankakee?

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

  • Aroma Park, IL647 people, 3 miles
  • Sammons Point, IL223 people, 5 miles
  • Sun River Terrace, IL481 people, 7 miles
  • Bonfield, IL338 people, 10 miles
  • Papineau, IL132 people, 12 miles
  • Hopkins Park, IL645 people, 14 miles
  • Martinton, IL317 people, 15 miles
  • Beaverville, IL295 people, 15 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.