Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 66/100
C+
Median home value$455,700
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$1,799/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households28%
Chicago 33%
Wheaton
DuPage County53,557 residents2 school districts
69
B−
Suburbgrade score
8th of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strong on schools and amenities, held back by cost of living.
69
Chicago median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Wheaton yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 69 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 Wheaton is like to live in, by category
Bars show Wheaton against Chicago. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 82/100
B+
Within-state proficiency80th pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio14.6
Chicago median 13.7
Graduation rate—
Chicago median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 49/100
D+
Housing cost index125
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate2.02%
Chicago 1.83%
Local sales tax8.96%
Chicago median 8.96%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 71/100
B−
Mean commute25.7 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes65%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi8.6
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 75/100
B
Restaurants & cafés58
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries5
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks83
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 67/100
C+
Median household income$120,008
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment3.7%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations57%
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.
Nobody has answered for Wheaton 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 Wheaton on cost of living
Wheaton's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Cicero18 mi from WheatonC+ 49 D+ Niles19 mi from WheatonC+ 62 C Downers Grove6 mi from WheatonC 68 B− Addison7 mi from WheatonC 56 C− Elk Grove Village12 mi from WheatonC 62 C Des Plaines16 mi from WheatonC 66 C+ Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Wheaton
Is Wheaton, IL a good place to live?
Wheaton scores 69 out of 100, 8th of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Wheaton expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades D+. The median home is $455,700, 41% above the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.02%. $1,799/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Wheaton?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Wheaton sit at the 80th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 14.6 student–teacher ratio. Wheaton is served by Cusd 200 and Glenbard Twp Hsd 87. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Wheaton?
The mean commute is 25.7 min, with 65% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 26% working from home. Transit density is 8.6 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Wheaton?
Within two miles there are 5 groceries, 58 restaurants and cafés and 83 parks, which grades B on amenities.
Are the homes in Wheaton old or new?
The median home in Wheaton 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. 70% 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.