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Place dossier plate
SheetIL-MELROSE-PARK-IL · Melrose Park, IL 24,513 pop · income 42nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Melrose Park
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Melrose Park on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Kankakee · lowest
45,119
Kankakee · lowest
45,119 median HH income
31.9% of the leader · rank #1
Leoti · near
64,732
Leoti · near
64,732 median HH income
45.8% of the leader · rank #2
Tannersville · near
64,732
Tannersville · near
64,732 median HH income
45.8% of the leader · rank #3
Midway · near
64,735
Midway · near
64,735 median HH income
45.8% of the leader · rank #4
Mount Carmel · near
64,738
Mount Carmel · near
64,738 median HH income
45.8% of the leader · rank #5
Melrose Park · this city
64,740
Melrose Park · this city
64,740 median HH income
45.8% of the leader · rank #6
Herndon · highest
141,418
Herndon · highest
141,418 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Melrose Park on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 24,513.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Melrose Park - the verdict
Melrose Park ranks in the 42nd percentile for household income and the 30th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
42nd
percentile, household income
59th
percentile, home value
18th
percentile, median rent
30th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Melrose Park, IL
Melrose Park is a small city in Illinois, home to 24,513 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Melrose Park brings in $64,740 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.6%. Melrose Park's housing stock carries a median value of $265,000, and the median resident age is 35.0 years. About 14.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 62.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 7 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 600% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2074.8 in FBI UCR data, near the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Illinois tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Illinois at 100.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,063 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Illinois run around $240, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 54.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Melrose Park's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to work and mobility to schools and households to comparison shortlist to reported crime to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Melrose Park, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Melrose Park growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -724 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 7 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the journey to work look like in Melrose Park?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
What does the education layer cover for Melrose Park?
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 14.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Which cities make useful reference points for Melrose Park?
Within Illinois, the closest population matches are Belvidere (24,510 residents, $62,462 income); Homer Glen (24,516 residents, $128,546 income); Zion (24,466 residents, $62,574 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pelham, AL (24,510 residents); Herndon, VA (24,529 residents); Kerrville, TX (24,532 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Melrose Park?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2074.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 9% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1770.5
Violent rate
304.4
Total reported rate
2074.8
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Melrose Park?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$64,740
Home value
$265,000
Value / income
4.1×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 8.6% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average
F
City profile score · Melrose Park, IL
37/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate D
8.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income D
$64,740
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living D
100.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime F
304 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Melrose Park profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 45/100 (D) · 8.6%
Household income: 42/100 (D) · $64,740
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Violent crime: 32/100 (F) · 304 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 19/100 (F) · 14.7%
Where Melrose Park sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Melrose Park's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Melrose Park highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Melrose Park, IL (this city): home $265,000, crime 2,075/100k
Pelham, AL : home $278,900, crime 893/100k
Herndon, VA : home $568,700, crime 2,035/100k
Kerrville, TX : home $272,700, crime 728/100k
Ridgeland, MS : home $259,600, crime 1,700/100k
Belvidere, IL : home $153,100, crime 589/100k
Homer Glen, IL : home $400,000, crime 293/100k
Zion, IL : home $179,100, crime 1,446/100k
Morton Grove, IL : home $377,000, crime 1,182/100k
Westmont, IL : home $369,100, crime 1,106/100k
How does Melrose Park compare to other US cities?
Here's how Melrose Park stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income42% higher than other cities
Home value59% pricier than other cities
Median rent18% pricier than other cities
Safety30% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Illinois alone, Melrose Park ranks #369 of 455 Illinois cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Melrose Park against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Illinois only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Illinois-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Melrose Park near the bottom of Illinois's cities
Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Melrose Park ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Melrose Park only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#714 of 1,311
46th percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Median Home Value
#203 of 1,315
84th percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#552 of 1,335
58th percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#839 of 1,336
37th percentile in Illinois
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Illinois only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
42nd percentile nationally for median household income · 30th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Melrose Park's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Melrose Park's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Melrose Park's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$265,00041st percentilemore affordable than 41% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Melrose Park's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,957 of 15,516
More affordable than 29% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,065 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.1×, Melrose Park sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,957 of 15,516 and #2,065 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$64,740Melrose Park, IL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Melrose Park, IL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Melrose Park, IL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
24,513
Median Income
$64,740
Median Home Value
$265,000
Median Age
35.0
Poverty Rate
8.6%
Labor force participation
62.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2074.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
304.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1770.5
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Melrose Park's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
24,660 residents
2021
24,210 residents
2022
23,867 residents
2023
23,821 residents
2024
23,967 residents
2025
23,936 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
7
housing units authorized
Single-Family
3
detached homes
Multifamily
4
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.2M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
2
2
0
$0.4M
2022
5
5
0
$0.9M
2023
1
1
0
$0.2M
2024
7
3
4
$0.9M
Permit volume increased 600% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
74.4%
Carpool
15.1%
Public Transit
2.2%
Walk
2.5%
Work from Home
4.9%
Other
0.9%
Based on 11,863 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Illinois statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $240
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Illinois at $240 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Illinois statewide averages, not a meter reading for Melrose Park. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Illinois's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Melrose Park is $1,063/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Illinois statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 54.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Illinois statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Melrose Park sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Melrose Park compares to similar-size Illinois cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.