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Compare towns

Wheaton vs Carol Stream

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: home values (+36% in Wheaton) and work from home (+10.9 pts in Wheaton).

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Wheaton, ILAn outdoors townIllinois · 53,557 people
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Carol Stream, ILOne of the healthiest townsIllinois · 39,460 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 $800 more a month in Wheaton

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.

Wheaton$3,590/mo
Typical home $515K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.07% · or rent about $1,799/mo · Housing →
Carol Stream$2,780/mo
Typical home $385K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.38% · or rent about $1,529/mo · Housing →

The difference: $800 a month, about $9,600 a year, between Wheaton and Carol Stream.

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

Wheaton and Carol Stream share a border

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

WheatonCarol StreamWheatonCarol Stream
Wheaton ↔ Carol Stream4.6 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
616 Carol Stream residents work in Wheaton (3% of its workers)
580 Wheaton residents work in Carol Stream (2.3% of its workers)
Work & commute in Carol Stream →
Report cards

Wheaton places higher on 18 of 23 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
WheatonCarol Stream
Snow a year42″46″
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)43rd29th
Outdoors & history
WheatonCarol Stream
Trails8 mi6 mi
Conserved land7.4%6.3%
Settled18311959
National Register places6—
Archive photos—13
Famous people born here—5
Community
WheatonCarol Stream
Library hours a week68 hrs69 hrs
Colleges in town1—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined01

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.

WheatonCarol Stream
People
Population 53,557Highest 39,460Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +2%Highest +0.4%Lowest
Median age 36.8±0.8Lowest 6% below IL 40.4±1.4Highest 4% above IL
Kids under 18 22%±1.4Highest IL: 21.8% 20.6%±1.6Lowest IL: 21.8%
Wheaton and Carol Stream are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 17.5%±1.1Highest IL: 17% 16.9%±1.6Lowest IL: 17%
Wheaton and Carol Stream are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 64.5%Highest IL: 37.8% 42.8%Lowest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 10.7%±0.9Highest IL: 6.3% 7.5%±1.4Lowest IL: 6.3%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $120,008±$4kHighest 44% above IL $102,309±$6kLowest 23% above IL
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $455,700±$10kHighest 73% above IL $335,000±$8kLowest 27% above IL
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,799±$83Highest 41% above IL $1,529±$78Lowest 20% above IL
Property taxmedian, yearly $9,443Highest 78% above IL $7,987Lowest 51% above IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44%±5.3Highest IL: 47.9% 41.2%±6.7Lowest IL: 47.9%
Wheaton and Carol Stream are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 5.6%Lowest IL: 11.8% 6.4%Highest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 71.7%Highest IL: 67.1% 67.3%Lowest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1976Lowest 5 yrs newer than IL 1984Highest 13 yrs newer than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 26 minLowest 8% below IL 28 minHighest about the IL average
Work from home 25.7%±1.8Highest IL: 15.9% 14.8%±1.8Lowest IL: 15.9%
Work in townworking residents 11%Highest 7.8%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.8 mi 10.8 mi
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.83Lowest 1.03Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Chicago (18%)Chicago (14%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 2% work in Carol Stream3% work in Wheaton
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 7.4%Highest 6.3%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 8.1 miHighest 6.1 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.7 miHighest 0.6 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 46Highest 33Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 105Highest 86.6Lowest
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.

Wheaton neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wheaton’s Town Square.

Carol Stream neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 1w

Improving Our Village

1 neighbor in Carol Stream can answer.

Add a town

Set another town beside Wheaton and Carol Stream

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Bordering Wheaton

Towns like Wheaton

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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