You’re probably never going to make enough money to live in the richest counties in Illinois.
The median household income in DuPage County, the richest county in Illinois is $112,096, significantly higher than the US median of $74,580, which means based purely on math most people never make enough to live there.
And that’s okay because it’s still fun to look at the people living in the lap of luxury.
So we used Saturday Night Science and the most recent Census to rank home prices and incomes for all 102 counties in the Prairie State. Let’s star gaze together.
What is the richest county in Illinois? The richest county in Illinois is DuPage County. In contrast, the poorest county in the state is Alexander County, according to the Census data.
$112,096 median income · $432,425 median home price
$111,601 median income · $389,876 median home price
$110,416 median income · $384,534 median home price
$109,984 median income · $366,080 median home price
$103,163 median income · $373,804 median home price
$104,802 median income · $357,917 median home price
$102,880 median income · $325,385 median home price
$92,235 median income · $315,211 median home price
$83,498 median income · $326,039 median home price
$84,571 median income · $280,540 median home price
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Illinois’s statewide median.
Illinois statewide median: $83,390
Illinois statewide median: $285,736
On the map
Where Illinois’s richest counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which Illinois county is the richest?
To determine the richest county in Illinois, we have to look at a handful of metrics that correlate with how rich people are. To do that, we made assumptions about what makes a county rich. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to the American Community Survey data and Zillow for the most recent reporting period for data on the following:
- Average Home Price
- Median Income
We then ranked each county in Illinois for each of the criteria from one to 102, with one being the richest.
Taking the average rank across the two criteria, we created a Rich Score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Richest County In Illinois.”
The result is some of the places with the most expensive real estate and highest earners in the Prairie State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our first time ranking the richest counties to live in Illinois.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Richest Counties In Illinois
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DuPage County | 930,024 | $112,096 | $432,425 |
| 2 | Kendall County | 137,675 | $111,601 | $389,876 |
| 3 | Lake County | 714,223 | $110,416 | $384,534 |
| 4 | Will County | 701,462 | $109,984 | $366,080 |
| 5 | Kane County | 517,255 | $103,163 | $373,804 |
| 6 | McHenry County | 312,591 | $104,802 | $357,917 |
| 7 | Monroe County | 35,036 | $102,880 | $325,385 |
| 8 | Grundy County | 53,219 | $92,235 | $315,211 |
| 9 | Cook County | 5,182,090 | $83,498 | $326,039 |
| 10 | Boone County | 53,230 | $84,571 | $280,540 |
| 11 | Woodford County | 38,312 | $91,483 | $221,363 |
| 12 | Piatt County | 16,695 | $94,811 | $215,218 |
| 13 | Clinton County | 36,954 | $86,588 | $217,319 |
| 14 | McLean County | 171,556 | $79,905 | $251,617 |
| 15 | Ogle County | 51,495 | $82,132 | $218,880 |
| 16 | Calhoun County | 4,330 | $93,203 | $191,064 |
| 17 | Menard County | 12,095 | $82,176 | $199,170 |
| 17 | Effingham County | 34,522 | $80,404 | $211,543 |
| 19 | Jo Daviess County | 21,851 | $73,993 | $247,009 |
| 19 | Jersey County | 21,274 | $80,361 | $196,452 |
| 21 | Madison County | 264,238 | $75,793 | $193,117 |
| 22 | Tazewell County | 130,290 | $77,982 | $183,602 |
| 23 | Sangamon County | 194,947 | $75,357 | $190,360 |
| 23 | DeKalb County | 100,703 | $70,724 | $289,255 |
| 25 | St. Clair County | 253,694 | $73,854 | $195,663 |
| 26 | Putnam County | 5,601 | $75,590 | $179,202 |
| 27 | Kankakee County | 106,635 | $71,281 | $217,322 |
| 28 | Jasper County | 9,180 | $74,755 | $168,590 |
| 29 | Washington County | 13,627 | $78,224 | $157,367 |
| 30 | Mercer County | 15,495 | $74,182 | $163,935 |
| 31 | LaSalle County | 108,714 | $73,045 | $175,696 |
| 32 | Moultrie County | 14,424 | $71,784 | $181,415 |
| 33 | Douglas County | 19,751 | $77,320 | $154,287 |
| 34 | Livingston County | 35,565 | $73,790 | $163,480 |
| 35 | Henry County | 48,643 | $71,911 | $163,773 |
| 35 | Cumberland County | 10,334 | $73,327 | $160,742 |
| 37 | Shelby County | 20,720 | $72,095 | $161,882 |
| 38 | Lee County | 33,869 | $70,292 | $174,240 |
| 39 | Champaign County | 208,741 | $63,683 | $231,346 |
| 40 | Winnebago County | 283,292 | $65,837 | $202,626 |
| 41 | Adams County | 64,754 | $66,220 | $177,656 |
| 42 | Randolph County | 30,058 | $68,131 | $153,971 |
| 43 | Clark County | 15,266 | $72,927 | $139,900 |
| 45 | De Witt County | 15,373 | $71,678 | $141,403 |
| 45 | Brown County | 6,322 | $67,917 | $152,417 |
| 45 | Bond County | 16,716 | $65,959 | $162,558 |
| 47 | Rock Island County | 142,757 | $67,159 | $151,236 |
| 48 | Johnson County | 13,376 | $62,528 | $189,505 |
| 48 | Bureau County | 32,866 | $69,257 | $143,492 |
| 50 | Marshall County | 11,647 | $71,585 | $134,025 |
| 51 | Macoupin County | 44,350 | $70,805 | $134,474 |
| 52 | Iroquois County | 26,449 | $66,255 | $149,561 |
| 52 | Peoria County | 179,645 | $65,108 | $156,125 |
| 54 | Whiteside County | 54,947 | $67,500 | $138,238 |
| 55 | Stephenson County | 43,768 | $64,043 | $153,776 |
| 55 | Crawford County | 18,511 | $71,674 | $122,029 |
| 57 | Schuyler County | 6,787 | $65,948 | $145,816 |
| 58 | Logan County | 27,713 | $66,358 | $136,794 |
| 59 | Williamson County | 66,876 | $65,604 | $149,240 |
| 60 | Morgan County | 33,021 | $66,306 | $128,347 |
| 61 | Carroll County | 15,576 | $60,758 | $156,363 |
| 62 | Ford County | 13,406 | $62,439 | $150,970 |
| 63 | Warren County | 16,447 | $67,385 | $112,082 |
| 63 | Jefferson County | 36,550 | $63,118 | $134,910 |
| 65 | Pope County | 3,739 | $60,050 | $150,792 |
| 65 | Stark County | 5,308 | $62,878 | $131,532 |
| 67 | Fayette County | 21,315 | $60,944 | $142,741 |
| 68 | Cass County | 12,784 | $68,125 | $96,603 |
| 69 | Richland County | 15,598 | $62,455 | $133,091 |
| 69 | Christian County | 33,538 | $62,611 | $128,570 |
| 71 | Montgomery County | 27,942 | $63,620 | $121,155 |
| 72 | Hancock County | 17,281 | $65,865 | $110,782 |
| 72 | Macon County | 101,849 | $62,666 | $123,099 |
| 74 | Massac County | 13,865 | $65,116 | $112,646 |
| 75 | Hamilton County | 7,916 | $65,746 | $110,772 |
| 76 | Union County | 16,997 | $55,728 | $150,462 |
| 77 | Henderson County | 6,193 | $62,227 | $122,063 |
| 78 | Scott County | 4,937 | $66,705 | $89,289 |
| 79 | Coles County | 46,777 | $56,478 | $140,128 |
| 80 | Marion County | 37,000 | $61,240 | $117,481 |
| 81 | Edwards County | 6,075 | $60,519 | $115,421 |
| 82 | Perry County | 20,639 | $62,118 | $104,883 |
| 83 | Wabash County | 11,119 | $57,086 | $119,814 |
| 83 | Greene County | 11,683 | $62,192 | $101,093 |
| 85 | Pike County | 14,469 | $59,777 | $113,376 |
| 85 | Mason County | 12,745 | $62,845 | $92,676 |
| 87 | Clay County | 13,052 | $60,417 | $107,024 |
| 88 | Wayne County | 15,973 | $55,521 | $121,052 |
| 89 | Jackson County | 53,064 | $48,763 | $123,804 |
| 90 | Knox County | 49,046 | $57,030 | $111,709 |
| 91 | Fulton County | 33,020 | $60,599 | $95,759 |
| 92 | Edgar County | 16,535 | $59,941 | $98,376 |
| 93 | Vermilion County | 72,386 | $56,877 | $95,715 |
| 93 | White County | 13,619 | $54,813 | $104,282 |
| 95 | Hardin County | 3,605 | $54,271 | $98,799 |
| 96 | Gallatin County | 4,819 | $59,219 | $79,256 |
| 97 | Franklin County | 37,323 | $56,740 | $89,412 |
| 98 | Lawrence County | 15,031 | $55,324 | $95,312 |
| 99 | McDonough County | 26,920 | $52,795 | $92,986 |
| 100 | Saline County | 23,213 | $53,117 | $84,756 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + Zillow via Saturday Night Science. All 102 Illinois counties.
Summary
Summary: The Richest Counties In Illinois For 2026
Living in Illinois can vary from one part of the state to the next, with pretty extreme variance in home prices and incomes across counties.
The richest counties in Illinois are DuPage County, Kendall County, Lake County, Will County, Kane County, McHenry County, Monroe County, Grundy County, Cook County, and Boone County.
Now you know the parts of the state where Goodwill will have the best goodies, and that’s what you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
