Hoffman Estates

Cook County51,175 residents6 school districts
61
C
Suburbgrade score

27th of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strongest on schools, held back by commute & transport.

Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Hoffman Estates yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 61 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 Hoffman Estates is like to live in, by category

Bars show Hoffman Estates against Chicago. Weights are published in full.

Housing & affordability

18% of the score · 60/100
C
Median home value$351,900
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$1,734/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households29%
Chicago 33%

Schools

18% of the score · 77/100
B
Within-state proficiency68th pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio12.4
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 · 55/100
C−
Housing cost index107
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate2.15%
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 · 51/100
D+
Mean commute28.5 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes57%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi1.8
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles

Amenities

12% of the score · 53/100
C−
Restaurants & cafés27
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks46
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles

Employment & income

12% of the score · 64/100
C+
Median household income$106,806
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment4.2%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations49%
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 Hoffman Estates yet. If you live here, you can be the first.

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

Better than Hoffman Estates on commute & transport

Hoffman Estates's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.

Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24

Common questions about living in Hoffman Estates

Is Hoffman Estates, IL a good place to live?

Hoffman Estates scores 61 out of 100, 27th of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on commute & transport. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.

Is Hoffman Estates expensive to live in?

Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $351,900, 9% above the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.15%. $1,734/mo is the median gross rent.

How good are the schools in Hoffman Estates?

Schools grade B. The districts serving Hoffman Estates sit at the 68th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 12.4 student–teacher ratio. Hoffman Estates is served by Township Hsd 211, Schaumburg CCSD 54, SD U-46, Palatine Community Consolidated School District 15, Barrington Cusd 220 and Community Unit School District 300. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.

How long is the commute from Hoffman Estates?

The mean commute is 28.5 min, with 57% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 18% working from home. Transit density is 1.8 stops per square mile.

Can you walk anywhere in Hoffman Estates?

Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 27 restaurants and cafés and 46 parks, which grades C− on amenities.

Are the homes in Hoffman Estates old or new?

The median home in Hoffman Estates was built in 1976 — newer 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. 75% 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.