Cicero

Cook County82,797 residents2 school districts
49
D+
Suburbgrade score

52nd of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.

Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Cicero yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 49 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →

What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.

What Cicero is like to live in, by category

Bars show Cicero against Chicago. Weights are published in full.

Housing & affordability

18% of the score · 35/100
F
Median home value$249,400
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$1,154/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households35%
Chicago 33%

Schools

18% of the score · 37/100
F
Within-state proficiency10th pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio15.4
Chicago median 13.7
Graduation rate—
Chicago median 91%
EDFacts SY2021–22 · NCES CCD 2024–25 · EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19Full page →

Cost of living

14% of the score · 65/100
C+
Housing cost index82
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate1.90%
Chicago 1.83%
Local sales tax8.96%
Chicago median 8.96%
Composed in-house · ACS 2020–24 · ACS 2020–24 · Tax Foundation state average, January 1, 2026Full page →

Commute & transport

14% of the score · 43/100
D
Mean commute29.3 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes49%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi37
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles

Amenities

12% of the score · 83/100
A−
Restaurants & cafés84
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries11
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks65
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles

Employment & income

12% of the score · 42/100
D−
Median household income$70,842
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment5.0%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations19%
Chicago 45%

Residents

12% of the score · inactive
—

No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.

Ask the people who live here

Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.

0 responses·Residents category: waiting for first responses·Live

Nobody has answered for Cicero yet. If you live here, you can be the first.

Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →

Better than Cicero on housing & affordability

Cicero's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.

Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24

Common questions about living in Cicero

Is Cicero, IL a good place to live?

Cicero scores 49 out of 100, 52nd of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.

Is Cicero expensive to live in?

Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $249,400, 23% below the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.90%. $1,154/mo is the median gross rent.

How good are the schools in Cicero?

Schools grade F. The districts serving Cicero sit at the 10th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 15.4 student–teacher ratio. Cicero is served by Cicero SD 99 and J S Morton Hsd 201. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.

How long is the commute from Cicero?

The mean commute is 29.3 min, with 49% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 5.5% working from home. Transit density is 37 stops per square mile.

Can you walk anywhere in Cicero?

Within two miles there are 11 groceries, 84 restaurants and cafés and 65 parks, which grades A− on amenities.

Are the homes in Cicero old or new?

The median home in Cicero was built in 1939 or earlier — older than the Chicago median of 1971. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 45% of homes are houses rather than flats.

Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.