What it's like to live in Hazel Crest
Hazel Crest is a small city in Illinois with home prices that remain within reach and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Hazel Crest deals with household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, a population that has been shrinking, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Air quality concerns
- Shrinking population
- High poverty rate
- Cold winters
How Hazel Crest compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Hazel Crest
Based on Hazel Crest's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,640
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $52,800 a year
- 33% of Hazel Crest renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$37,060
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $18,530
- Homes cost 2.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,320/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,320 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $185,300. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $185,300 · 33% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.8% county unemployment
Unemployment in Cook County is 4.8%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Cook County (county-wide)
SafetyNear US average
356 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 2272/100k · Hazel Crest Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
27 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 26.8 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% take public transit; 16% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 82°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 18°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 36% below US
23% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 23%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Pullman National Historical Park (9 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Hazel Crest's strongest point is home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,320/mo) equals 23% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (16% of workers here already work from home).
Other places near Hazel Crest
All Illinois guides →Moving to Homewood →
2 mi away · pop. 19,294
Rent $1,333/mo · Income $100,139
Compare with Hazel Crest →Moving to Country Club Hills →
2 mi away · pop. 16,324
Rent $1,709/mo · Income $75,197
Compare with Hazel Crest →Not sure Hazel Crest is the one?
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