2019 Best Places to Retire in IllinoisAbout this List

Leland Grove

• Town in Illinois

• A+

• B+

• A+

• 1,423 Population

Aledo

• Town in Illinois
• 8 reviews

Current Resident: Aledo is an amazing town. It is perfect to raise kids and is very close knit. The homes are affordable and everything in town is walking distance. It's close to the quad cities so commute time if you work outside Aledo, is very short. I'm
Read 8 Reviews

• B

• C+

• A+

• 3,487 Population

Indian Head Park

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 4 reviews

Current Resident: A hidden gem. I have lived here for 21 years and loved every minute. It is a great place to raise children. The schools, parks, and sports are excellent. Commuters will love the easy access to I-55 and 294 expressways. It is also easy to take the metra. If the houses are too expensive you can choose a condo or townhome.
Read 4 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A+

• 3,829 Population

Riverwoods

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 7 reviews

Current Resident: Nice and quiet....you feel like you're in some small town in Wisc. All homes are 1 or 2 acre lots. Lots of trees and flowers. The best!
Read 7 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A+

• 3,683 Population

Highland Park

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 36 reviews

Current Resident: Highland Park has so much to offer Families and Empty Nesters. With Rapid access to the City, a town with a lot of restaurants, stores, cafe's, salons, nail joints, and more, its like living in a large city but with the warmth of a small town. For us almost empty nester's, its a walkers paradise with great parks, dog parks, and great sidewalks, we can walk anywhere and still have a quiet, peaceful home. We have only been here for two years from New York, but its an amazing, friendly place with easy access to Chicago.
Read 36 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A+

• 29,796 Population

Oak Brook

• Suburb of Naperville, IL
• 11 reviews

Niche User: Oak Brook is the best of all worlds. Hundreds and hundreds of acres of open space, excellent sports facilities, world-class shopping, incredible range of employment opportunities. Close to major trauma hospital and excellent medical care. Superior public safety departments. NO real estate tax assessed for village operations - so we have an exceedingly low property tax bill. What are reported as high 'crime' numbers are from things like people passing bad checks, credit card fraud, etc at our huge shopping area. It does not impact the residents of the village.
Read 11 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 8,108 Population

Burr Ridge

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 23 reviews

Current Resident: I love Harvester Park. I live about two blocks away, and my entire childhood has been on those play-sets. I was born in 2001, this is when the park was beginning to grow, my older sister even attended pre-school there. My family would take nightly walks down harvester drive and explore what is now the wetlands. I'm excited for the park to expand more into the community and grow. I have a strong tie to this neighborhood.
Read 23 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 10,783 Population

Lake Forest

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 55 reviews

Current Resident: Moved to Lake Forest from Hinsdale due to a job change and wow am I impressed. Lake Forest does an excellent job utilizing corporate tax revenue to keep property taxes extremely low. From the beach to preserves and the meticulously manicured estates, I didn't know beauty like this existed. Surprisingly, the community is very close and the people are much friendlier than expected. Neighbors actually know each other. The community is very active as well. Hinsdale will always hold a special place in my heart but I am more than happy with LF.
Read 55 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 18,931 Population

Energy

• Town in Illinois

• B

• B-

• A

• 1,152 Population

Inverness

• Suburb of Elgin, IL
• 16 reviews

Niche User: This is a wonderful place to live especially for families with children. As a student, the education is of very high quality and establishing solid foundational knowledge early on is incredibly helpful when it comes time for college. There's also a lot of recreational opportunities offered through the park districts.
Read 16 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 7,723 Population

Barrington Hills

• Suburb of Elgin, IL
• 4 reviews

Current Resident: Barrington Hills is one of the most beautiful suburbs in IL. It has an equestrian rural country feel yet has many amenities nearby. I have multiple grocery stores, restaurants, Metra stations and malls within a 15 minute radius. The schools are excellent. Homes are on large lots over 5 acres and there are no cookie cutter neighborhoods. Houses are all custom with many estates and large farms in the village. We have young children and this is a great place to raise a family.
Read 4 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 3,622 Population

Northbrook

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 63 reviews

Current Resident: Great northern suburb of Chicago to raise a family in! The school systems are definitely a perk of living in Northbrook. Likewise, the community events are extremely open and family-friendly, truly a great place to grow up and find your roots.
Read 63 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 33,591 Population

Lake Barrington

• Suburb of Elgin, IL
• 3 reviews

Current Resident: Lake Barrington is a wonderful place to live! Open space trails, free tennis courts, playground and splash park at Village Hall, and friendly neighbors. School District 220 is one of the best in the State. We are home to some great restaurants and Pepper Park coffee : - ) You'll find the tax rate here is lower than most, while the services are exceptional.
Read 3 Reviews

• A

• A+

• A

• 5,048 Population

Lincolnshire

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 9 reviews

Nearby Resident: Lincolnshire is one of the safest towns I have ever been to. Extremely family friendly, making it the perfect town to raise children. Lincolnshire has a fantastic public High School as well as numerous other elementary and middle schools. Lincolnshire is also filled with fun things to do! Filled with fantastic upscale high end restaurants as well as countless chain fast food joints.
Read 9 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 7,328 Population

Oakbrook Terrace

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 5 reviews

Current Resident: Oakbrook Terrace is a wonderful place to live and raise a family in. This small, but tight-knit community has been an extremely easy place for my parents to move into and raise their family, coming from Lithuania. There is a lot to do around here, with tons of malls, shops, and restaurants nearby. Also, some of the top local and private schools in the state are located just a few miles away from here. It is centrally located in a well-kept up community. The city does an outstanding job of plowing/salting the roads, keeping the parks/nature walks clean, running a solid park district and not to mention the incredible firework show that they put on display every fourth of July in honor of America. Lastly, the police department is top-notch, with a brand-new police station providing optimal safety for its residents, considering the size of our town.
Read 5 Reviews

• A

• A

• A

• 2,699 Population

Glenview

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 118 reviews

Current Resident: Great schools and neighborhoods. Glenbrook South actually won a “Grammy” for it’s unparalleled music program. It offers an excellent variety of advanced placement courses, sports and activities for ALL interests. The neighborhoods are clean and everyone cares about the appearance and safety of them. My sons never felt threatened or bullied. School environment was friendly and nurturing. Parents are caring and involved. The night life is primarily the many small restaurants in the Glen. It offers a terrific hospital, ice arena, and fun, neighborhood water parks. Holiday parades and fireworks with the Glenview orchestra are other family outings. If you want an exciting nightlife, go to Chicago. Glenview is an awesome family oriented community.
Read 118 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 47,066 Population

Northfield

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 6 reviews

Current Resident: What a wonderful place to live! The town is a pleasant place to ride bikes and visit local shops, the library, grocery, pharmacy, the village restaurant, which are all run by friendly locals. Easily accessible and a small town feel, only 15 minutes away from the city of Chicago. I'm so glad we moved here!
Read 6 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 5,459 Population

Willowbrook

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 24 reviews

Current Resident: Willowbrook is a great community to raise a family. The schools are outstanding, the village services are great. It has diversity and provides wonderful experiences through the park department and the Indian Prairie Library. The taxes are very reasonable for what we get.

For those who are not aware, Hinsdale Lake Terrace is not in the village of Willowbrook, but is unincorporated and only shares a zipcode with the village. Those kids do attend Hinsdale Sounth high school, but not Gower district 62.
Read 24 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 8,598 Population

South Jacksonville

• Town in Illinois
• 2 reviews

• B+

• C+

• A

• 3,222 Population

Casey

• Town in Illinois
• 5 reviews

Former Resident: Casey is a very small town with less than 3,000 residents. It has multiple world record breaking structures, including largest wind chime, rocking chair, golf tee, pitchfork, wooden shoes, mailbox, crochet hook, and knitting needles. The town's people are very welcoming and accommodating of all visitors and new residents.
Read 5 Reviews

• B

• B

• A

• 2,554 Population

Sherman

• Town in Illinois
• 3 reviews

Current Resident: Sherman is part of a Williamsville school district. The school district is excellent as the school board and its teachers have the students best interest. Also, the schools are typically 2A and very competitive and successful in most sports. No safety concerns in Sherman and the village continues to grow economically at a good pace. Not much night life other than a couple of bars and a couple of decent restaurants. However, Sherman is within 5-12 miles of major stores, restaurants, the mall, movie theaters, etc. Overall, Sherman is a great village that is centrally located in the Springfield, Illinois area and a village I would strongly recommend to anyone as a place to live.
Read 3 Reviews

• A-

• B+

• A

• 4,492 Population

Morton Grove

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 58 reviews

Current Resident: Morton Grove is a small but tight-knit community. The public parks and forest preserves are well-maintained, and the park district has state of the art facilities. There is an abundance of small businesses to shop at, with restaurants offering a variety of foreign cuisines. The local schools do an excellent job of educating children. The only complaint about the town is the road maintenance: There are some streets in the community that need to be repaved.
Read 58 Reviews

• A+

• A+

• A

• 23,391 Population

Gibson City

• Town in Illinois
• 8 reviews

Current Resident: Great small town with many opportunities. Fantastic educational system, plenty of shops downtown, and many different food establishments to choose from!
Read 8 Reviews

• B+

• B+

• A

• 3,339 Population

Palos Heights

• Suburb of Chicago, IL
• 26 reviews

Current Resident: Palos Heights is a southwest suburb of Chicago. While you can imagine how ritzy some of the suburbs can be, Palos Heights reminds me of a small town and tight-knit community.
There are so many forest preserves that are in Palos Heights and surrounding Cook County, that make this area truly beautiful.
Something that I would like to see change in Palos Heights, is that the city would stop building new places where the forest preserves are.
Read 26 Reviews

• A-

• A

• A

• 12,545 Population

Newton

• Town in Illinois

• B

• B

• A

• 2,860 Population