A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Addison$2,620/mo

Typical home $381K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.95% · or rent about $1,245/mo · Housing →

McHenry$2,290/mo

Typical home $315K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.42% · or rent about $1,553/mo · Housing →

The difference: $330 a month, about $4,000 a year, between Addison and McHenry.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

McHenry places higher on 12 of 22 IL lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Illinois ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

B+AddisonSafer than 65% of U.S. towns A−McHenrySafer than 83% of U.S. towns

Health

BAddisonHealthier than 63% of U.S. towns B+McHenryHealthier than 75% of U.S. towns

8Addison

12McHenry

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest depressionHealth · 861 towns #42#565 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 297 towns #37#201 Most activeHealth · 861 towns #671#321 Highest graduation rateSchools · 669 towns #404#138 Most conserved landOutdoors · 838 towns #114#444 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 862 towns #351#38 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 861 towns #817#507 Most new homesHousing · 431 towns #164#14

Left end = #1 in Illinois. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Addison’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

AddisonMcHenry

Snow a year42″35″

January low—13°F

July high—84°F

Growing season (days)—162d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)23rd 72nd

Outdoors & history

AddisonMcHenry

Trails7 mi 8 mi

Conserved land11.5%3.2%

Settled1839 1872

National Register places—2

Archive photos24 —

Famous people born here8 —

Community

AddisonMcHenry

Library hours a week66 hrs 66 hrs

Colleges in town1 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

32 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

AddisonIL McHenryIL

Addison ↔ McHenry32 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Illinois average

AddisonMcHenry

People

Population 35,489Highest 28,074Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -3.4%Lowest +0.5%Highest

Median age 40.8±1.8Lowest 5% above IL 43.9±2.1Highest 13% above IL

McHenry and Addison are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 19.5%±2Lowest IL: 21.8% 19.8%±2.3Highest IL: 21.8%

McHenry and Addison are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 16.9%±1.5Lowest IL: 17% 19.3%±2.1Highest IL: 17%

McHenry and Addison are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 23.7%Lowest IL: 37.8% 25.7%Highest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.8%±1.2Highest IL: 6.3% 4.9%±1.3Lowest IL: 6.3%

Addison and McHenry are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $90,431±$5kHighest 8% above IL $86,315±$6kLowest 4% above IL

Addison and McHenry are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $341,300±$9kHighest 30% above IL $266,500±$9kLowest about the IL average

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,245±$55Lowest about the IL average $1,553±$110Highest 22% above IL

Property taxmedian, yearly $6,662Highest 26% above IL $6,456Lowest 22% above IL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 36.5%±8.1Lowest IL: 47.9% 50.8%±7.9Highest IL: 47.9%

McHenry and Addison are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 8.7%Highest IL: 11.8% 4.7%Lowest IL: 11.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 67%Lowest IL: 67.1% 74.4%Highest IL: 67.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1972Lowest 1 yr newer than IL 1988Highest 17 yrs newer than IL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minLowest 8% below IL 29 minHighest 4% above IL

Work from home 12.5%±2.5Lowest IL: 15.9% 14.1%±2.8Highest IL: 15.9%

McHenry and Addison are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 9.7%Lowest 12.7%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.8 miLowest 17.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.53Highest 1.03Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Chicago (14%)Chicago (8%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in McHenryFew work in Addison

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 11.5%Highest 3.2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 7.1 miLowest 7.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.7 miHighest 0.5 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 29Lowest 30Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 78.8Highest 55.0Lowest

Illinois average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Addison neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Addison’s Town Square.

McHenry neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to McHenry’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Addison

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Lombard43,619 people · $336K homes

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Bloomingdale22,457 people · $377K homes

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Villa Park22,345 people · $329K homes

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Wood Dale13,933 people · $319K homes

Towns like Addison

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Elmwood Park23,868 people · $339K homes

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Crest Hill20,628 people · $233K homes

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Berwyn55,595 people · $300K homes

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Berwyn Township55,595 people · $300K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Addison vs McHenry

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $330 more a month in Addison

McHenry places higher on 12 of 22 IL lists

What daily life feels like in each

32 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Addison and McHenry

Bordering Addison

Towns like Addison

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