Niche released its list of 2016 Best Suburbs to Live in Illinois. Wheaton was ranked #14 and was given an A+ rating. The summary stated "Wheaton is a suburb in Illinois with 53,406 residents. It has very high home values, high rent costs, and average unemployment levels. Its citizens generally have high education levels and high income levels."
There are other reasons to live in Wheaton. It is more manageable than nearby Naperville, which also got an A+. Wheaton is 11 square miles while Naperville is 39 square miles. To determine more about the rankings, one has to go to the "Show Details" on the Niche website. I've included a link at the end of this post.
Nearby Warrenville and Lisle also got high rankings and were also ranked higher than nearby Glen Ellyn, which received a slightly lower A grade. Nearby Lombard also got an A grade.
Wheaton was ranked #14 and Glen Ellyn #37. Here are the rankings and grades of communities nearby Wheaton and in DuPage County:
Naperville, Grade A+, #1
Wheaton, Grade A+, #14
Warrenville, Grade A, #24
Lisle, Grade A, #27
Glen Ellyn, Grade A, #37
Lombard, Grade A, #39
Itasca at #96 was the lowest ranked DuPage County community in the top 100. It was given an overall grade of A- and was #96. The lowest overall score in the top 100 was an A-.
Naperville was noted as having "very high home values [and] very high rent costs." Wheaton was noted as having "high home values [and] high rent costs."
Niche includes reader reviews. I got a chuckle from this one about Wheaton. Obviously, this was culled from something several decades old: "It can be a little "dry", both literally (no alcohol sale) and figuratively (with not many exciting options nearby). Otherwise though, it has a very "nice" feel to it and you can definitely enjoy yourself with some good friends." Niche gave Wheaton an A- for nightlife, and yes alcoholic beverages flow freely in many restaurants. However, there is not a single bar in Wheaton city limits. There are "taverns" which serve food and beverages and at least one establishment that describes itself as a "gastropub."
I also suggest readers go to the link at the end of the post to compare details. Here are some interesting differences between Naperville (Ranked #1) and Wheaton (Ranked #14). I'd suggest that the difference in rankings is about weightings, and for many of the communities in the top 25, the details need to be scrutinized. For example, what's more important? Nightlife or Crime and Safety? Overall, Naperville and Wheaton are ranked very closely, but one is 39 square miles and the other is 11 square miles:
Naperville Wheaton
Cost of Living: C- C-
Education (BS or higher): A+ A+
Public Schools: A+ A+
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Real Estate (strength of market) B- B-
Diversity A- B+
Health and Fitness A A
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Nightlife A A-
Shortest Commute B+ A
Crime and Safety B+ A-
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Family Amenities (parks, libraries, etc.) A A
Jobs B+ B
Outdoor Activities B- B-
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Weather C+ C+
Here is the link to the Niche website, and clicking on "show details" will give more details on the grading:
https://local.niche.com/rankings/suburbs/best-suburbs/s/illinois/
For more on the Niche website about Wheaton, go to this link:
https://k12.niche.com/t/wheaton-dupage-il/
