Western Springs Named Among Top 10 Towns for Young Families

By Shannon Antinori (Patch Staff)

Bigger isn’t necessarily better, especially if you’re looking to raise a family, according to NerdWallet.

The consumer finance site took a look at Illinois towns with populations over 10,000, ranking the best places to raise a young family, and found that smaller towns dominated the rankings.

Western Springs made the site’s list of top 10 Best Cities for Young Families in Illinois.

According to NerdWallet, the following factors were considered in coming up with the rankings:

• Home affordability. We looked at median home value and selected monthly homeowner costs to prioritize affordable communities.
• Prosperity and growth. Looking at current and past family incomes, we calculated the income of residents, as well as the projected long-term growth of each city.
• Quality of education. We looked at ratings at GreatSchools.org to find the best schools.
• Family friendliness. This year, we added a new component to our methodology — the percentage of families with school-age children and the poverty rate for young children. This measure helps determine if an area is not only affordable for families, but if it is also a healthy one for children.

According to the site, towns with fewer than 25,000 residents tended to rank higher than more populated towns.

The Village of Western Springs was No. 9 on the list.

“The closest city in the top 10 to Chicago, Western Springs is home to the highest median income on our list,” the site said in its assessment. “Here the higher monthly housing costs are offset by an exceptional school district — it is the only other city in our top 10 that earned a perfect 10 rating at GreatSchools. Even though it is geographically close to Chicago, Western Springs works to maintain its own identity, with organizations such as the Village Club of Western Springs, a 115-year-old group that helps put on community and family events throughout the year.”

Other towns in the top 10 include Lake Zurich (No. 1), Minooka (No. 4), Oswego (No. 6) and New Lenox (No. 10.)

Click here to view the full list and details on the study.