Moving to
Prospect Heights.

All Prospect Heights data Compare Prospect Heights

15,618people live here $85,008median household incomeNear US average $1,475median rent per monthNear US average $346,500median home valueNear US average

What it's like to live in Prospect Heights

Prospect Heights is a small city in Illinois with crime rates well below the national average, a highly educated workforce, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Prospect Heights deals with air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, a population that has been shrinking, and cold winters.

The good

Low crime rates
Highly educated workforce
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Air quality concerns
Shrinking population
Cold winters

How Prospect Heights compares

Median household income

Prospect Heights$85,008

Illinois avg$83,390

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Prospect Heights$1,475

Illinois avg$1,274

US$1,413

Median home value

Prospect Heights$346,500

Illinois avg$263,300

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Prospect Heights

Based on Prospect Heights's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,950

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $59,000 a year
31% of Prospect Heights renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$69,300

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $34,650
Homes cost 4.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of livingNear US average

$1,475/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,475 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $346,500. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $346,500 · 31% 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)

Safety▼ 86% below US

45 violent crimes per 100k

Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.

Property crime 543/100k · Prospect Heights Police Department · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

26 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 26 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 19% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

67%

Work from home

19%

Carpool

11%

Other

2.0%

Public transit

1.4%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 82°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 21°F and snow a regular occurrence.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 15% above US

41% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 41% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

Schools

5 public schools inside the boundary

There are 5 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Pullman National Historical Park (33 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Prospect Heights's strongest points are crime rates well below the national average and a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are air quality that falls short of national benchmarks and a population that has been shrinking. A year of median rent ($1,475/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit anyone prioritizing low crime, remote workers (19% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals.

See all the data for Prospect Heights →·All Illinois cities →