Living in Island Lake, IL
Island Lake is a big small town of 8,014 people in McHenry County, Illinois. It's about 27 miles from Kenosha, WI and 40 miles from Chicago, IL, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 30°F, with about 36 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $263k and rent runs about $2k a month.
8,014people
$263kTypical home
$1,874/moRent
84° / 30°Summer / winter
36"Snow
224Sunny days
121Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 8,014
- Part of a metro area
- About 2,379 people per sq mi
- 40 mi to Chicago, IL
- 27 mi to Kenosha, WI
- 3 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $263k (≈$1,655/mo)
- Median rent $1,874/mo
- Median household income $103k
- Property tax about 2.5% of value
- 7.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 30°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 62°F)
- 224 sunny days a year (73 totally clear)
- 141 cloudy days a year
- 46 of 90 winter days are gray
- 121 days a year with rain or snow
- 36" of snow a year
- 12 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 32 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (31 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (452 per 100k)
People
- Median age 39
- 35% of households have kids
- 14% are 65 or older
- 31% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 34 min
- 0% walk or take transit to work
- 26 mi to ORD airport
- 26 mi to ORD (major hub)
- 25 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 96% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1990
- 98% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 771 ft
- 628 mi to the ocean
- 19 mi to a big lake
- 4 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 15 mi to the nearest ski area
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 156 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 1,776 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 249 bars within 25 mi
- 464 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 65 museums within 25 mi
- 19 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 16 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 36% of Illinois districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 6 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 6 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 5 mi to the nearest dog park
- 3 congregations per 10k people
- 11 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- McHenry County: R+5 in 2024
- Illinois: D+11 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk