The DuPage County community has climbed to the top of Niche’s 2026 Illinois rankings, earning national recognition for its schools, family appeal and suburban quality of life.
Walk through downtown Clarendon Hills and you may notice a message that is difficult to miss: “#1 Place to Live in Illinois.”
This time, the hometown brag comes with a ranking to back it up.
Clarendon Hills holds the No. 1 spot on Niche’s 2026 list of the Best Places to Live in Illinois, placing the small DuPage County suburb ahead of hundreds of communities across the state. The village also ranks No. 1 among Illinois suburbs and No. 1 in the state for raising a family.
The recognition goes well beyond Illinois. Niche ranks Clarendon Hills as the No. 1 Best Suburb to Live in America and No. 5 among all places to live nationwide.
A Small Suburb With a National Ranking
Clarendon Hills has a population of about 8,700, giving it a scale that feels considerably different from larger Chicago-area suburbs.
Niche gives the community an overall grade of A+, with particularly strong marks for public schools, family life, health and fitness, outdoor activities and crime and safety. Its rankings draw on data and reviews, with factors including schools, housing, jobs, cost of living and local amenities.
The village itself describes Clarendon Hills as an established western suburb located in eastern DuPage County. Incorporated in 1924, the community is home to roughly 8,900 residents and more than 100 businesses.
One of its defining features is the combination of a compact residential community with direct access to the Chicago region.
The Clarendon Hills Metra station sits in the heart of downtown and serves the BNSF Line, connecting the village with downtown Chicago and other western suburbs.
That means residents can live in a community of fewer than 10,000 people while retaining commuter-rail access to one of the country’s largest cities.
Downtown Helps Tell the Story
The “#1 Place to Live” message feels particularly fitting in downtown Clarendon Hills because the downtown district captures much of what distinguishes the village.
Rather than a large commercial corridor dominated by national chains, the center of town is compact and walkable, with restaurants, cafés, shops and community-oriented businesses clustered around Prospect Avenue and the Metra station.
The village also points to its downtown, schools, low crime rate and commuter rail access as important parts of its quality of life.
That combination gives Clarendon Hills something increasingly valuable in the Chicago suburbs: a small-town center without complete separation from the larger metropolitan area.
Niche’s profile also reflects the cost of that appeal. The platform lists a median home value of $605,800, substantially above the national figure shown in its data, while approximately 84% of residents own their homes.
In other words, earning a reputation as one of Illinois’ most desirable communities comes with a housing market that may be out of reach for some buyers.
From No. 2 to No. 1
The 2026 ranking also represents a step up.
Clarendon Hills’ official community profile notes that the village ranked No. 2 among the best places to live in Illinois in Niche’s 2025 rankings. It was also ranked No. 2 among Chicago-area suburbs and No. 25 among places to live nationwide that year.
For 2026, Clarendon Hills moved to the top spot in Illinois.
Niche now ranks it No. 1 for Best Places to Live in Illinois, No. 1 for Best Places to Raise a Family in Illinois and No. 1 for Best Suburbs to Live in Illinois. It also ranks third in the state for places with the best public schools.
At the national level, its No. 1 ranking among suburbs is particularly notable considering Niche evaluated thousands of communities.
Rankings like these are ultimately based on a particular methodology and should not be interpreted as a universal verdict on where everyone should live. Affordability, commute needs, housing preferences and lifestyle priorities can produce very different answers for different households.
But for a community of fewer than 10,000 people tucked into DuPage County, reaching the top of a national suburban ranking is a significant distinction.
And in downtown Clarendon Hills, the village isn’t keeping that distinction quiet.
The sign says it simply: #1 Place to Live in Illinois.
