The 10 Best Cities For Singles In Illinois For 2025


The best cities for singles in Illinois are Urbana and Champaign for 2025 based on Saturday Night Science.

Are you looking for love in Illinois?

Or are you just hoping to hook up with a hot Illinoisan?

Either way, we’ve got you covered here.

If you live in Illinois, there’s a pretty good chance there are a lot of singles in your area. The Prairie State has plenty of people over 18 who aren’t married or in a serious relationship.

That’s great news for people who are single and looking to mingle.

So, where are the best cities for singles in Illinois? We used Saturday Night Science to find out.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Best Cities For Singles In Illinois For 2025

  1. Urbana
  2. Champaign
  3. Chicago
  4. Blue Island
  5. Forest Park
  6. Glendale Heights
  7. DeKalb
  8. Cicero
  9. Carbondale
  10. Evanston

Best Cities For Singles In Illinois Map

So, what was the best city for singles in Illinois? Urbana ranks as the best place for singles in Illinois if you care about things singles care about, like nightlife, affordable housing, and other singles.

Read below to see how we crunched the numbers and how each city ranked. If you live in or are close to one of these cities and are single, you should probably get out more often.

Just saying.

For more Illinois reading, check out:

The 10 Best Cities For Singles In Illinois For 2025

Urbana, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 38,447
Median Age: 26.7
Married households: 12.0%
Households with kids: 13.3%
More on Urbana: Data

Champaign, IL

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 88,822
Median Age: 27.1
Married households: 15.0%
Households with kids: 20.7%
More on Champaign: Data

Review Of Champaign by HomeSnacks User

Crime is getting worse by the day as many gangs from Chicago are moving into the area. Schools are not too bad but do not like the fact they use the city bus to transport children to school. It’s a college student town so population varies throughout the year.

Going go some of the college sporting events was neat. Not a whole lot to do outside of that. Winters are brutal with nasty winds.

Chicago, IL

Source: Flickr User ::RodrixParedes:: | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 2,707,648
Median Age: 35.7
Married households: 14.0%
Households with kids: 24.0%
More on Chicago: Data

Review Of Chicago by HomeSnacks User

Chicago is a great city, don’t listen to what the media says.

Navy Pier and Wrigley Field are great! Be sure to go to Lou Malnati’s for deep dish pizza or Portillos for Italian Beef

Blue Island, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Burnhamandroot | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 23,416
Median Age: 36.7
Married households: 16.0%
Households with kids: 29.3%
More on Blue Island: Data

Forest Park, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 14,000
Median Age: 40.0
Married households: 19.0%
Households with kids: 21.1%
More on Forest Park: Data

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 32,864
Median Age: 35.5
Married households: 14.0%
Households with kids: 31.2%
More on Glendale Heights: Data

Dekalb, IL

Source: Wikipedia User | None
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 40,464
Median Age: 25.4
Married households: 17.0%
Households with kids: 27.1%
More on Dekalb: Data

Cicero, IL

Source: Wikipedia User MrHarman | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 83,223
Median Age: 34.3
Married households: 9.0%
Households with kids: 40.5%
More on Cicero: Data

Carbondale, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Explorecdale | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 21,813
Median Age: 24.9
Married households: 9.0%
Households with kids: 15.0%
More on Carbondale: Data

Evanston, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 76,552
Median Age: 38.0
Married households: 15.0%
Households with kids: 24.1%
More on Evanston: Data

Methodology: How do you determine which city is best for singles in Illinois anyways?

To give you the places in Illinois which are best for singles to find one another, we used Saturday Night Science to look at a handful of metrics. Of course, we want to measure the type of people who live in each city and make some assumptions about what single people like.

So we researched the internet for a database that contains all that information.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the 2019-2023 American Community Survey Census data produced for the state of Illinois, we looked at every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:

  • Population density
  • % of population that’s male vs. female (closer to a 50-50 ratio is better)
  • % of households with kids
  • Median age
  • Number of unmarried people in each city

We then gave each city a “Singles Score.”

The higher the score, the better the city is for singles to find one another. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For Illinois, that meant a total of 219 cities.

We updated this article for 2025. This is our tenth time ranking the best cities for singles in Illinois.

Read on to see why Urbana is the talk of the town while Campton Hills is probably a bit on the bland side.

Summary: The Best Cities for Singles in Illinois for 2025

If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in Illinois ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for finding a single person (and potentially love), this is an accurate list.

The best cities for singles in Illinois are Urbana, Champaign, Chicago, Blue Island, Forest Park, Glendale Heights, DeKalb, Cicero, Carbondale, and Evanston.

Here’s a look at the most boring cities in Illinois according to the data:

  1. Campton Hills
  2. Channahon
  3. Pingree Grove

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Best Cities For Singles In Illinois

Rank City Population Median Age % Married Households % Households /w Kids
1 Urbana, IL 38,447 26.7 12.0% 13.3%
2 Champaign, IL 88,822 27.1 15.0% 20.7%
3 Chicago, IL 2,707,648 35.7 14.0% 24.0%
4 Blue Island, IL 23,416 36.7 16.0% 29.3%
5 Forest Park, IL 14,000 40.0 19.0% 21.1%
6 Glendale Heights, IL 32,864 35.5 14.0% 31.2%
7 Dekalb, IL 40,464 25.4 17.0% 27.1%
8 Cicero, IL 83,223 34.3 9.0% 40.5%
9 Carbondale, IL 21,813 24.9 9.0% 15.0%
10 Evanston, IL 76,552 38.0 15.0% 24.1%
11 Chicago Ridge, IL 14,147 34.3 22.0% 28.5%
12 Wheeling, IL 38,495 39.2 12.0% 26.7%
13 Summit, IL 10,896 38.5 10.0% 36.4%
14 Harvey, IL 19,831 36.8 13.0% 31.8%
15 Justice, IL 12,372 37.0 18.0% 30.5%
16 Rock Island, IL 36,758 37.1 21.0% 24.8%
17 Northlake, IL 12,547 40.9 15.0% 28.3%
18 Carpentersville, IL 37,544 33.8 16.0% 43.1%
19 Maywood, IL 23,173 35.1 18.0% 36.5%
20 Waukegan, IL 88,919 34.6 10.0% 34.4%
21 Berwyn, IL 55,888 36.4 18.0% 36.6%
22 Normal, IL 52,908 25.2 21.0% 23.6%
23 Aurora, IL 179,867 35.2 18.0% 42.6%
24 Streamwood, IL 39,055 40.0 17.0% 32.5%
25 Warrenville, IL 14,232 37.2 24.0% 28.4%
26 Worth, IL 10,731 39.1 26.0% 28.7%
27 Riverdale, IL 10,515 33.5 16.0% 32.8%
28 Carol Stream, IL 39,427 39.3 24.0% 32.1%
29 Kankakee, IL 24,384 36.4 18.0% 32.4%
30 Charleston, IL 17,212 28.8 29.0% 17.6%
31 Lisle, IL 23,413 37.0 27.0% 26.1%
32 Wheaton, IL 53,453 37.6 28.0% 29.1%
33 Franklin Park, IL 18,233 37.0 16.0% 38.3%
34 Mount Prospect, IL 55,648 41.7 25.0% 30.6%
35 Macomb, IL 15,006 27.7 16.0% 18.3%
36 Dolton, IL 20,979 40.0 18.0% 27.6%
37 Hanover Park, IL 36,850 35.0 17.0% 40.6%
38 Mundelein, IL 31,632 38.3 24.0% 31.4%
39 Skokie, IL 66,427 42.6 16.0% 32.6%
40 Peoria, IL 112,126 35.8 23.0% 26.1%
41 Schaumburg, IL 76,780 39.7 22.0% 30.0%
42 Bloomington, IL 78,703 36.0 27.0% 27.3%
43 Melrose Park, IL 24,513 35.0 11.0% 38.7%
44 Lyons, IL 10,391 41.9 22.0% 26.9%
45 Burbank, IL 28,822 38.2 21.0% 36.1%
46 Niles, IL 30,262 47.6 16.0% 29.3%
47 Fairview Heights, IL 16,255 41.6 19.0% 25.1%
48 Villa Park, IL 22,456 37.1 32.0% 33.4%
49 Prospect Heights, IL 15,681 41.0 22.0% 26.7%
50 Elgin, IL 114,106 36.3 20.0% 36.6%
51 Rolling Meadows, IL 23,981 38.5 23.0% 30.9%
52 Belvidere, IL 24,510 39.7 22.0% 30.2%
53 North Chicago, IL 30,772 23.6 5.0% 34.4%
54 Palos Hills, IL 18,139 42.5 22.0% 26.4%
55 River Grove, IL 10,482 36.6 23.0% 29.1%
56 Rockford, IL 147,649 37.5 21.0% 28.2%
57 Oak Lawn, IL 57,098 40.3 31.0% 29.1%
58 Zion, IL 24,466 34.0 16.0% 34.3%
59 Schiller Park, IL 11,454 36.9 19.0% 31.6%
60 Hickory Hills, IL 14,718 38.1 19.0% 33.2%
61 Lombard, IL 43,722 38.8 31.0% 27.6%
62 Palatine, IL 66,548 39.6 24.0% 29.2%
63 Midlothian, IL 14,024 38.9 31.0% 26.6%
64 Danville, IL 28,663 38.9 22.0% 27.6%
65 Morton Grove, IL 24,687 44.3 22.0% 33.0%
66 Moline, IL 42,235 38.7 26.0% 28.7%
67 Chicago Heights, IL 26,938 35.6 16.0% 36.5%
68 Bridgeview, IL 16,721 40.7 18.0% 27.0%
69 Collinsville, IL 24,126 39.7 27.0% 23.6%
70 Addison, IL 35,470 41.1 20.0% 31.5%
71 Norridge, IL 15,177 47.0 16.0% 24.9%
72 Oak Park, IL 53,315 40.6 21.0% 28.8%
73 West Chicago, IL 25,434 35.8 18.0% 43.4%
74 Woodridge, IL 33,889 37.6 26.0% 30.3%
75 Round Lake Beach, IL 27,081 34.1 19.0% 42.2%
76 Park Forest, IL 20,898 36.9 20.0% 31.5%
77 Jacksonville, IL 17,490 37.6 30.0% 20.9%
78 Lincoln, IL 13,406 38.4 30.0% 21.7%
79 River Forest, IL 11,489 40.1 29.0% 35.0%
80 Elmwood Park, IL 23,982 40.3 22.0% 30.2%
81 Bensenville, IL 18,576 37.0 20.0% 30.1%
82 Naperville, IL 149,424 40.1 23.0% 37.5%
83 Glen Ellyn, IL 28,270 41.3 28.0% 34.4%
84 Joliet, IL 149,785 35.3 28.0% 40.5%
85 Bellwood, IL 18,373 38.3 20.0% 33.8%
86 Vernon Hills, IL 26,772 41.3 20.0% 35.7%
87 Des Plaines, IL 59,408 42.8 22.0% 28.6%
88 Bradley, IL 15,331 35.5 30.0% 27.9%
89 Bolingbrook, IL 73,813 37.4 22.0% 38.6%
90 Round Lake, IL 18,588 36.7 23.0% 41.6%
91 Hoffman Estates, IL 51,186 38.9 23.0% 36.1%
92 Arlington Heights, IL 76,220 42.7 31.0% 30.1%
93 Hazel Crest, IL 13,493 34.7 19.0% 37.0%
94 Beach Park, IL 13,988 36.2 22.0% 33.3%
95 Markham, IL 11,434 33.7 17.0% 36.6%
96 Crestwood, IL 10,622 50.7 21.0% 14.6%
97 Loves Park, IL 23,185 36.8 24.0% 25.3%
98 Galesburg, IL 29,653 41.2 25.0% 20.7%
99 Homewood, IL 19,471 39.8 34.0% 34.8%
100 O’fallon, IL 32,139 36.9 24.0% 38.7%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.