Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 47/100
D
Median home value$265,800
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$1,276/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households29%
Chicago 33%
Joliet
Will & Kendall counties150,445 residents5 school districts
51
D+
Suburbgrade score
50th of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by commute & transport.
51
Chicago median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Joliet yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 51 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 Joliet is like to live in, by category
Bars show Joliet against Chicago. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 52/100
D+
Within-state proficiency39th pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio15.5
Chicago median 13.7
Graduation rate—
Chicago median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 54/100
C−
Housing cost index88
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate2.04%
Chicago 1.83%
Local sales tax8.96%
Chicago median 8.96%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 46/100
D
Mean commute28.8 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes57%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi5.1
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 58/100
C
Restaurants & cafés43
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks18
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 51/100
D+
Median household income$92,201
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment5.5%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations31%
Chicago 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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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.
Nobody has answered for Joliet 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 Joliet on commute & transport
Joliet's weakest grade is D. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
Wheaton24 mi from JolietB− 69 B− Downers Grove20 mi from JolietC 68 B− Aurora19 mi from JolietC 55 C− Naperville16 mi from JolietC− 71 B− Woodridge16 mi from JolietC− 64 C+ Bolingbrook12 mi from JolietD 58 C Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Joliet
Is Joliet, IL a good place to live?
Joliet scores 51 out of 100, 50th of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on commute & transport. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Joliet expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $265,800, 18% below the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.04%. $1,276/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Joliet?
Schools grade D+. The districts serving Joliet sit at the 39th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 15.5 student–teacher ratio. Joliet is served by Joliet Twp Hsd 204, Joliet Psd 86, Troy CCSD 30c, Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70c and Plainfield School District 202. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Joliet?
The mean commute is 28.8 min, with 57% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 8.8% working from home. Transit density is 5.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Joliet?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 43 restaurants and cafés and 18 parks, which grades C on amenities.
Are the homes in Joliet old or new?
The median home in Joliet was built in 1985 — 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. 79% 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.