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 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood5 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Lincoln Way West, about 5 miles away.
- A hospital close bySilver Cross Hospital and Medical Centers in New Lenox, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 33 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 Manhattan 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
Boom town. The population is up 15% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.
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
- $332,600U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 22%Will County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,213 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $128,522U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 88%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $8,785 a yearIllinois: $5,298
- Homes built before 1940
- 7%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 31%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 2%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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, not Manhattan 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
- 10,9432020: 9,528
- Median age
- 32.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 8%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 31%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 35%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 4%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 5%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 (23%); professional and business services (12%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (10%)
- Unemployment rate
- 2%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 38 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 12%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: Silver Cross Hospital and Medical Centers, New Lenox, IL, about 9 miles away. 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
3 public schools in Manhattan, run by Manhattan SD 114. The nearest public high school is Lincoln Way West, about 5 miles away.
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
- 98%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
- 17°F
- July average high
- 84°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 15 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 126 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 38 inches a year
- Snow
- 17 inches a year
- Elevation
- 693 feet
Weather station: Joliet Brandon Rd Dam (9 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: Silver Cross Hospital and Medical Centers, Joliet, Chicago.
Will 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 Park27 miles
- Indiana Dunes National Park28 miles
- Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument33 miles
Read about Manhattan's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Elwood, IL2,200 people, 7 miles
- Ingalls Park, IL3,000 people, 7 miles
- Ridgewood, IL2,800 people, 9 miles
- Mokena, IL19,900 people, 9 miles
- Rockdale, IL2,000 people, 9 miles
- Fairmont, IL2,600 people, 11 miles
Smaller places
- Preston Heights, IL (unincorporated)2,449 people, 7 miles
- Symerton, IL124 people, 8 miles
- Arbury Hills, IL (unincorporated)1,519 people, 11 miles
- Bonnie Brae, IL (unincorporated)846 people, 13 miles
- Lakewood Shores, IL (unincorporated)459 people, 13 miles
- Sunnyland, IL (unincorporated)1,231 people, 13 miles
- Rest Haven, IL (unincorporated)455 people, 14 miles
- Crystal Lawns, IL (unincorporated)1,766 people, 14 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.