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Leyden Township vs Chicago

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: trails (19.2× in Chicago) and size (29.8× in Chicago).

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Leyden Township, ILAn outdoors townCook County · 90,973 people
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Chicago, ILA history townIllinois · 2,711,226 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

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.

Leyden Township$2,040/mo
Typical home $288K (Census) · tax rate 2.20% · or rent about $1,246/mo · Housing →
Chicago$2,160/mo
Typical home $334K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.48% · or rent about $1,440/mo · Housing →

The difference: $120 a month, about $1,500 a year, between Chicago and Leyden Township.

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.

Where they are

Leyden Township and Chicago share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Leyden TownshipChicagoLeyden TownshipChicago
Leyden Township ↔ Chicago12 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
12,077 Leyden Township residents work in Chicago (28.4% of its workers)
Work & commute in Leyden Township →
Report cards

Chicago places higher on 11 of 20 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.

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
Leyden TownshipChicago
Snow a year38″39″
January low19°F20°F
July high85°F85°F
Growing season (days)193d203d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)57th47th
Outdoors & history
Leyden TownshipChicago
Conserved land1.4%8%
Settled—1837
National Register places—415
Archive photos318
Famous people born here—37
Community
Leyden TownshipChicago
Library hours a week67 hrs72 hrs
Colleges in town—41
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined10

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.

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.

Leyden TownshipChicago
People
Population 90,973Lowest 2,711,226Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.2%Lowest +1.9%Highest
Median age 39.2±1.1Highest about the IL average 35.8±0.1Lowest 8% below IL
Kids under 18 21.8%±1.4Highest IL: 21.8% 19.4%±0.2Lowest IL: 21.8%
Age 65+ 15.5%±1Highest IL: 17% 13.8%±0.2Lowest IL: 17%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 25%Lowest IL: 37.8% 44.3%Highest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.2%±0.8Lowest IL: 6.3% 7.4%±0.2Highest IL: 6.3%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $79,935±$5kHighest 4% below IL $77,902±$907Lowest 7% below IL
Leyden Township and Chicago are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $288,200±$6kLowest 9% above IL $334,100±$2kHighest 27% above IL
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,246±$37Lowest about the IL average $1,440±$10Highest 13% above IL
Property taxmedian, yearly $6,344Highest 20% above IL $4,943Lowest 7% below IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44.2%±4.9Lowest IL: 47.9% 48.3%±0.8Highest IL: 47.9%
Chicago and Leyden Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 8.2%Lowest IL: 11.8% 16.8%Highest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 65.5%Highest IL: 67.1% 46%Lowest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1959Highest 12 yrs older than IL 1953Lowest 18 yrs older than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 29 minLowest 4% above IL 33 minHighest 19% above IL
Work from home 9.9%±1.2Lowest IL: 15.9% 21%±0.4Highest IL: 15.9%
Work in townworking residents 13.3%Lowest 64.2%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.8 miHighest 7.3 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.63Highest 1.22Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Chicago (28%)Evanston (1%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 28% work in ChicagoFew work in Leyden Township
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 1.4%Lowest 8%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 12.5 miLowest 239.4 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miLowest 1.0 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 37Lowest 520Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 83.5Lowest 114Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #248 of 384 in IL#275 of 384 in IL
School district Region 06 West Cook ISC 2 · Berkeley SD 87IDJJ Sch Dist 428 · Betty Shabazz Internl Chrtr Sch
High school in town East Leyden High SchoolLane Technical High School
Students per teacherat that high school 14.9Lowest 16.6Highest
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.

Leyden Township neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 1w

Leyden Living Perks

1 neighbor in Leyden Township can answer.

Chicago neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Chicago’s Town Square.

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Bordering Leyden Township

Towns like Leyden Township

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.

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