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

–Melrose ParkNot graded B+BerkeleySafer than 70% of U.S. towns

Health

C+Melrose ParkHealthier than 40% of U.S. towns BBerkeleyHealthier than 58% of U.S. towns

7Melrose Park

13Berkeley

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most-used librariesLibraries · 262 towns #213#71 Most remote workersWork · 849 towns #692#246 Most library borrowingLibraries · 262 towns #246#136 Fastest growingGrowth · 859 towns #535#248 Highest incomeIncome · 862 towns #601#384 Most walkableOutdoors · 862 towns #101#312 Most new homesHousing · 431 towns #330#415 Most activeHealth · 861 towns #832#671

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

Where they are

Melrose Park and Berkeley share a border

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

Melrose ParkBerkeley

Melrose Park ↔ Berkeley2.6 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

66 Berkeley residents work in Melrose Park (2.9% of its workers)

Work & commute in Berkeley →

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.

Down paymentRate%

Melrose Park$2,260/mo

Typical home $324K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.07% · or rent about $1,176/mo · Housing →

Berkeley$2,270/mo

Typical home $309K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.52% · or rent about $1,434/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

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.

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

Melrose ParkBerkeley

Snow a year42″42″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)63rd 47th

Outdoors & history

Melrose ParkBerkeley

Trails1 mi 0 mi

Conserved land1.7%1.3%

Archive photos30 17

Community

Melrose ParkBerkeley

Library hours a week42 hrs 54 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 1

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.

Only big differences vs Illinois average

Melrose ParkBerkeley

People

Population 24,549Highest 5,199Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -2.4%Lowest +2.5%Highest

Median age 37.3±2.1Highest 4% below IL 33.6±5Lowest 14% below IL

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

Kids under 18 22.6%±2.7Lowest IL: 21.8% 26.9%±9.3Highest IL: 21.8%

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

Age 65+ 12.8%±2.1Lowest IL: 17% 17%±5.2Highest IL: 17%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 15%Lowest IL: 37.8% 18.6%Highest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.8%±1.1Highest IL: 6.3% 3.9%±2.1Lowest IL: 6.3%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $66,189±$4kLowest 21% below IL $85,823±$14kHighest about the IL average

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $275,800±$11kHighest 5% above IL $246,900±$21kLowest 6% below IL

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,176±$82Lowest 8% below IL $1,434±$210Highest 13% above IL

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $5,717Lowest 8% above IL $6,224Highest 17% above IL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 43%±6.4Lowest IL: 47.9% 74.2%±55.1Highest IL: 47.9%

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

Below poverty line 12.3%Lowest IL: 11.8% 17.5%Highest IL: 11.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 56.7%Lowest IL: 67.1% 82%Highest IL: 67.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1956Highest 15 yrs older than IL 1955Lowest 16 yrs older than IL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 27 minLowest about the IL average 28 minHighest about the IL average

Work from home 5.9%±1.9Lowest IL: 15.9% 14.5%±9.5Highest IL: 15.9%

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

Work in townworking residents 10.1%Highest 1.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.8 miLowest 9.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.96Highest 0.52Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Chicago (22%)Chicago (27%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Berkeley3% work in Melrose Park

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.7%Highest 1.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.5 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 7Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 98.8Highest 67.4Lowest

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.

Melrose Park neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Life in Melrose Park

1 neighbor in Melrose Park can answer.

Berkeley neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Best View in Berkeley

1 neighbor in Berkeley can answer.

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Bordering Melrose Park

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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.

Melrose Park vs Berkeley

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Berkeley places higher on 13 of 21 IL lists

Melrose Park and Berkeley share a border

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Life in Melrose Park

Best View in Berkeley

Set another town beside Melrose Park and Berkeley

Bordering Melrose Park

Towns like Melrose Park

Post to Melrose Park

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