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Towns / Illinois

Wonder Lake, Illinois

Wonder Lake is a small town of about 5,600 people in McHenry County, Illinois. It's growing fast: its population is up 40% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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 50 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
5,593
up 40% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$252,200
McHenry County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$94,655
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Chicago area
103.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
McHenry, IL
To Chicago
50 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 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 3.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Woodstock North High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byNorthwestern Medicine McHenry in McHenry, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 50 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 Wonder Lake 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 40% 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
$252,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%McHenry County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$94,655U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
100%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,129 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%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 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, not Wonder Lake 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
5,5932020: 4,004
Median age
33.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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 (24%); manufacturing (20%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
37 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
3%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Northwestern Medicine McHenry, McHenry, IL, about 5 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

2 public schools in Wonder Lake, run by Harrison SD 36 and McHenry CCSD 15. The nearest public high school is Woodstock North High School, about 4 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
85%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
13°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
11 a year
Nights at or below freezing
144 a year
Rain and melted snow
37 inches a year
Snow
34 inches a year
Elevation
855 feet

Weather station: Mc Henry -wg Stratton L&d (7 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: Northwestern Medicine McHenry, Elgin, Chicago.

McHenry 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:

  • Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument53 miles
  • Pullman National Historical Park60 miles

Read about Wonder Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Wonder Lake?

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

  • Greenwood, IL314 people, 2 miles
  • McCullom Lake, IL962 people, 3 miles
  • Ringwood, IL830 people, 3 miles
  • Ridgefield, IL (unincorporated)221 people, 7 miles
  • Holiday Hills, IL606 people, 8 miles
  • Hartland, IL (unincorporated)105 people, 8 miles
  • Burtons Bridge, IL (unincorporated)134 people, 9 miles
  • Fox Lake Hills, IL (unincorporated)2,399 people, 12 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.