Data / Rankings / Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Winnetka, IL had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 224 cities in 2021, at 90.4%. Harvey, IL had the lowest, at 10.8%. The median was 34.9% and the figure for Illinois was 36.2%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest90.4Winnetka, IL
Lowest10.8Harvey, IL
Median34.9224 cities
Illinois36.2History

Top 40 cities, 2021

Winnetka, IL: 90.4 %Winnetka, IL90.4Wilmette, IL: 83.8 %Wilmette, IL83.8Western Springs, IL: 81.5 %Western Springs, IL81.5Deerfield, IL: 81.5 %Deerfield, IL81.5Lake Forest, IL: 81 %Lake Forest, IL81Hinsdale, IL: 80.5 %Hinsdale, IL80.5River Forest, IL: 79.7 %River Forest, IL79.7Highland Park, IL: 76.4 %Highland Park, IL76.4Libertyville, IL: 73.6 %Libertyville, IL73.6Oak Park, IL: 72.1 %Oak Park, IL72.1Northbrook, IL: 71.9 %Northbrook, IL71.9Barrington, IL: 70.8 %Barrington, IL70.8Naperville, IL: 70.7 %Naperville, IL70.7Burr Ridge, IL: 70.3 %Burr Ridge, IL70.3Glenview, IL: 68.5 %Glenview, IL68.5Glen Ellyn, IL: 68.4 %Glen Ellyn, IL68.4Evanston, IL: 68.3 %Evanston, IL68.3Buffalo Grove, IL: 67.3 %Buffalo Grove, IL67.3Lisle, IL: 65.2 %Lisle, IL65.2Wheaton, IL: 64.5 %Wheaton, IL64.5Vernon Hills, IL: 63.2 %Vernon Hills, IL63.2Park Ridge, IL: 62.4 %Park Ridge, IL62.4Elmhurst, IL: 62.1 %Elmhurst, IL62.1La Grange, IL: 62.1 %La Grange, IL62.1Winfield, IL: 61.8 %Winfield, IL61.8Geneva, IL: 61.3 %Geneva, IL61.3La Grange Park, IL: 60.5 %La Grange Park, IL60.5Downers Grove, IL: 59.8 %Downers Grove, IL59.8Campton Hills, IL: 59.7 %Campton Hills, IL59.7Grayslake, IL: 59.7 %Grayslake, IL59.7Arlington Heights, IL: 59.5 %Arlington Heights, IL59.5Urbana, IL: 59.5 %Urbana, IL59.5Frankfort, IL: 56.4 %Frankfort, IL56.4Lincolnwood, IL: 56.3 %Lincolnwood, IL56.3Plainfield, IL: 55.6 %Plainfield, IL55.6Edwardsville, IL: 55.5 %Edwardsville, IL55.5Lake Zurich, IL: 55.3 %Lake Zurich, IL55.3Batavia, IL: 55.2 %Batavia, IL55.2Gurnee, IL: 53.4 %Gurnee, IL53.4Darien, IL: 53.4 %Darien, IL53.4Winnetka, IL: 90.4 %Winnetka, IL90.4Wilmette, IL: 83.8 %Wilmette, IL83.8Western Springs, IL: 81.5 %Western Springs, IL81.5Deerfield, IL: 81.5 %Deerfield, IL81.5Lake Forest, IL: 81 %Lake Forest, IL81Hinsdale, IL: 80.5 %Hinsdale, IL80.5River Forest, IL: 79.7 %River Forest, IL79.7Highland Park, IL: 76.4 %Highland Park, IL76.4Libertyville, IL: 73.6 %Libertyville, IL73.6Oak Park, IL: 72.1 %Oak Park, IL72.1Northbrook, IL: 71.9 %Northbrook, IL71.9Barrington, IL: 70.8 %Barrington, IL70.8Naperville, IL: 70.7 %Naperville, IL70.7Burr Ridge, IL: 70.3 %Burr Ridge, IL70.3Glenview, IL: 68.5 %Glenview, IL68.5Glen Ellyn, IL: 68.4 %Glen Ellyn, IL68.4Evanston, IL: 68.3 %Evanston, IL68.3Buffalo Grove, IL: 67.3 %Buffalo Grove, IL67.3Lisle, IL: 65.2 %Lisle, IL65.2Wheaton, IL: 64.5 %Wheaton, IL64.5Vernon Hills, IL: 63.2 %Vernon Hills, IL63.2Park Ridge, IL: 62.4 %Park Ridge, IL62.4Elmhurst, IL: 62.1 %Elmhurst, IL62.1La Grange, IL: 62.1 %La Grange, IL62.1Winfield, IL: 61.8 %Winfield, IL61.8Geneva, IL: 61.3 %Geneva, IL61.3La Grange Park, IL: 60.5 %La Grange Park, IL60.5Downers Grove, IL: 59.8 %Downers Grove, IL59.8Campton Hills, IL: 59.7 %Campton Hills, IL59.7Grayslake, IL: 59.7 %Grayslake, IL59.7Arlington Heights, IL: 59.5 %Arlington Heights, IL59.5Urbana, IL: 59.5 %Urbana, IL59.5Frankfort, IL: 56.4 %Frankfort, IL56.4Lincolnwood, IL: 56.3 %Lincolnwood, IL56.3Plainfield, IL: 55.6 %Plainfield, IL55.6Edwardsville, IL: 55.5 %Edwardsville, IL55.5Lake Zurich, IL: 55.3 %Lake Zurich, IL55.3Batavia, IL: 55.2 %Batavia, IL55.2Gurnee, IL: 53.4 %Gurnee, IL53.4Darien, IL: 53.4 %Darien, IL53.4
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021 (%)
1Winnetka, IL90.4
2Wilmette, IL83.8
3Western Springs, IL81.5
4Deerfield, IL81.5
5Lake Forest, IL81
6Hinsdale, IL80.5
7River Forest, IL79.7
8Highland Park, IL76.4
9Libertyville, IL73.6
10Oak Park, IL72.1
11Northbrook, IL71.9
12Barrington, IL70.8
13Naperville, IL70.7
14Burr Ridge, IL70.3
15Glenview, IL68.5
16Glen Ellyn, IL68.4
17Evanston, IL68.3
18Buffalo Grove, IL67.3
19Lisle, IL65.2
20Wheaton, IL64.5
21Vernon Hills, IL63.2
22Park Ridge, IL62.4
23Elmhurst, IL62.1
24La Grange, IL62.1
25Winfield, IL61.8
26Geneva, IL61.3
27La Grange Park, IL60.5
28Downers Grove, IL59.8
29Campton Hills, IL59.7
30Grayslake, IL59.7
31Arlington Heights, IL59.5
32Urbana, IL59.5
33Frankfort, IL56.4
34Lincolnwood, IL56.3
35Plainfield, IL55.6
36Edwardsville, IL55.5
37Lake Zurich, IL55.3
38Batavia, IL55.2
39Gurnee, IL53.4
40Darien, IL53.4
41Normal, IL52.3
42Glen Carbon, IL52
43Champaign, IL51.9
44St. Charles, IL50.9
45Schaumburg, IL50.3
46Palatine, IL50.2
47Columbia, IL50.1
48O'Fallon, IL49.5
49Skokie, IL49.4
50Morton Grove, IL49
51Westmont, IL48.6
52Hoffman Estates, IL48.4
53Mahomet, IL48.4
54Forest Park, IL48.3
55Lombard, IL48.1
56Woodridge, IL47.9
57Bloomington, IL47.4
58Mount Prospect, IL47.1
59Chatham, IL46.9
60Cary, IL46.7
61Palos Heights, IL45.5
62Pingree Grove, IL45.5
63Carbondale, IL45.4
64Bartlett, IL44.7
65Swansea, IL44.6
66Lindenhurst, IL44.6
67New Lenox, IL44.5
68Mokena, IL44.4
69Algonquin, IL44.2
70Lemont, IL44
71Brookfield, IL44
72Sycamore, IL43.7
73Westchester, IL43.1
74Washington, IL43
75Orland Park, IL42.9
76Homewood, IL42.9
77Morton, IL42.8
78Oswego, IL42.2
79Wheeling, IL42
80Wauconda, IL42
81Carol Stream, IL41.7
82Chicago, IL41.7
83Mundelein, IL41.5
84Bloomingdale, IL41.1
85Matteson, IL40.8
86Antioch, IL40.6
87Crystal Lake, IL40.5
88Warrenville, IL40.4
89Lockport, IL40.4
90Prospect Heights, IL40.3
91Roselle, IL40.2
92Macomb, IL39.8
93Elk Grove Village, IL39.8
94Evergreen Park, IL39.5
95Des Plaines, IL39.1
96Lake in the Hills, IL38.8
97North Aurora, IL38.6
98Shorewood, IL38.5
99Shiloh, IL38.3
100Bolingbrook, IL38.3
101Homer Glen, IL38.1
102Round Lake, IL37.9
103Tinley Park, IL37.7
104Niles, IL37.6
105South Elgin, IL37.4
106Peoria, IL37
107Huntley, IL36.7
108Rolling Meadows, IL36.3
109Waterloo, IL35.8
110DeKalb, IL35.6
111Minooka, IL35.4
112Villa Park, IL34.9
113Aurora, IL34.8
114Springfield, IL34.4
115Yorkville, IL34.2
116Roscoe, IL34
117Bourbonnais, IL33.9
118Fairview Heights, IL33.1
119Channahon, IL32.7
120Charleston, IL32.7
121Montgomery, IL32.2
122Oak Lawn, IL32.1
123Troy, IL31.8
124Woodstock, IL31.5
125Country Club Hills, IL31.5
126Manhattan, IL31.1
127West Chicago, IL31.1
128Godfrey, IL30.6
129Collinsville, IL30.6
130Oak Forest, IL30.6
131Richton Park, IL30.4
132Highland, IL29.4
133Elmwood Park, IL29
134Glendale Heights, IL29
135Moline, IL28.6
136Schiller Park, IL28.2
137McHenry, IL28.2
138Chicago Ridge, IL27.4
138Park Forest, IL27.4
140Streamwood, IL27.2
141Hanover Park, IL26.9
142South Holland, IL26.8
143Hazel Crest, IL26.8
144East Peoria, IL26.8
145Belleville, IL26.6
146Norridge, IL26.2
147Elgin, IL26
148Palos Hills, IL26
149Lansing, IL25.9
150Loves Park, IL25.6
151Marion, IL25.5
152Crestwood, IL25.3
153Morris, IL25
154Quincy, IL24.5
155Joliet, IL24.5
156Wood Dale, IL24.2
157Berwyn, IL24.2
158Addison, IL23.8
159Hickory Hills, IL23.5
160North Chicago, IL23.3
161Bensenville, IL22.7
162Fox Lake, IL22.4
163Ottawa, IL22.2
164Rockford, IL22.2
165Herrin, IL22
165Romeoville, IL22
167Carpentersville, IL21.9
168Rock Island, IL21.9
169Effingham, IL21.5
170River Grove, IL21.2
171Decatur, IL21.1
172Alsip, IL20.8
173Jacksonville, IL20.7
174Dolton, IL20.4
175Mount Vernon, IL20.3
176Plano, IL20.2
177Lincoln, IL20
178Freeport, IL19.9
179Crest Hill, IL19.8
180Bridgeview, IL19.7
181Waukegan, IL19.6
182Alton, IL19.4
182Taylorville, IL19.4
184East Moline, IL19.1
185Calumet City, IL19
185Pekin, IL19
187Worth, IL18.7
188Galesburg, IL18.6
189Dixon, IL18.3
190Lyons, IL18.1
191Chicago Heights, IL17.9
192Danville, IL17.9
193Centralia, IL17.8
194Machesney Park, IL17.6
195Canton, IL17.5
196Justice, IL17.4
197Blue Island, IL17.2
198Mattoon, IL17
199Round Lake Beach, IL16.8
200Zion, IL16.6
201Midlothian, IL16.4
202Franklin Park, IL16.1
203Rantoul, IL16
204Burbank, IL15.9
205Riverdale, IL15.9
206Bradley, IL15.9
207Bellwood, IL15.8
208Northlake, IL15.3
209Maywood, IL15.2
210Sterling, IL15.2
211Beach Park, IL15.1
212Belvidere, IL14.7
213Granite City, IL14.2
214Wood River, IL14.2
215Markham, IL14.2
216Pontiac, IL14.1
217Kewanee, IL13.9
218Streator, IL13.4
219Kankakee, IL13.4
220Melrose Park, IL12.9
221Summit, IL11.8
222East St. Louis, IL11.7
223Cicero, IL10.9
224Harvey, IL10.8

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Illinois by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Illinois by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/illinois-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Illinois by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/illinois-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Illinois by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/illinois-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_illinois_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Illinois by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/illinois-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Illinois by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/illinois-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/illinois-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Illinois by share of adults with a bachelor's degree using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Winnetka, IL, with 90.4% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Harvey, IL, with 10.8% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 cities have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings