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Small town

Living in Waterman, IL

Waterman is a small town of 1,448 people in DeKalb County, Illinois. It's about 37 miles from Rockford, IL and 56 miles from Chicago, IL, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 28°F, with about 30 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $217k and rent runs about $877 a month.

1,448people
$217kTypical home
$877/moRent
82° / 28°Summer / winter
30"Snow
224Sunny days
117Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Small town of 1,448
  • A standalone small town, not a suburb
  • About 956 people per sq mi
  • 56 mi to Chicago, IL
  • 37 mi to Rockford, IL
  • 11 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $217k (≈$1,370/mo)
  • Median rent $877/mo
  • Median household income $100k
  • Property tax about 2.1% of value
  • 5.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 82°F
  • Winter highs around 28°F
  • Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
  • 224 sunny days a year (79 totally clear)
  • 141 cloudy days a year
  • 47 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 117 days a year with rain or snow
  • 30" of snow a year
  • 10 days a year with 1"+ of snow
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • 32 nights a year below 10°F
  • Breezy

Safety

  • Very low violent crime (155 per 100k), county-wide
  • Low property crime (1,204 per 100k), county-wide

People

  • Median age 31
  • 40% of households have kids
  • 10% are 65 or older
  • 26% have a college degree
  • Mixed community
  • 8% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 38 min
  • 2% walk or take transit to work
  • 34 mi to RFD airport
  • 47 mi to ORD (major hub)
  • 24 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 84% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1970
  • 97% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Gently rolling terrain
  • Elevation 801 ft
  • 645 mi to the ocean
  • 58 mi to a big lake
  • 21 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 33 mi to the nearest ski area
  • 6 mi to the nearest campground
  • 30 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 343 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 57 bars within 25 mi
  • 80 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 22 museums within 25 mi
  • 6 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • 21 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 47% of Illinois districts (reading)
  • 11 mi to the nearest grocery store
  • 9 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 9 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 11 mi to the nearest vet
  • 4 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 6 congregations per 10k people
  • 12 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • DeKalb County: Purple — split almost evenly
  • 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

Places near Waterman

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