The 10 Snobbiest Places In Illinois For 2023


The Snobbiest places in Illinois are Winnetka and Glencoe for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

There are all types when it comes to being a snob in Illinois. You’ve got your Wine Snobs, Book Snobs, and, of course, Clothes Snobs. Then there are the Technology Snobs, Car Snobs, and yes, even City Snobsas in, I’m better than you because I live in (insert snooty city here).

How can we tell which Illinois cities are the snobbiest? By measuring snobby things, that’s how.

We used Saturday Night Science to look at things like expensive homes, high incomes, and overly educated populations by city in Illinois. These are the criteria you’d argue with a friend over a foodie dinner about who’s snobbier.

After analyzing 325 of the state’s most populous areas over 5,000 people, we came up with this ranking of the ten snobbiest places in the state of Illinois.

The Illinoisan in these places aren’t snobby, they just know they’re better than you.

Don’t freak out.

What’s the snobbiest place in Illinois? The snobbiest place in Illinois is Winnetka based on the data. If we had their wealth and lifestyle, we’d probably be a little snobby, too.

The most laid back? That would be Cahokia.

We’re not so full of ourselves as to make this ranking up from nowhere. So here’s a look at the top ten and more on how we did it. And if you’re curious, Illinois is the 14th snobbiest in the United States.

For more Illinois reading, check out:


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


The 10 Snobbiest Places In Illinois For 2023

Winnetka, IL

Source: Wikipedia User anarchosyn | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10
Population: 12,658
% Highly Educated: 91.0%
Median Income: $250,001
Median Home Price: $1,123,700
More on Winnetka:  Cost Of Living

Glencoe, IL

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

10
/10
Population: 8,824
% Highly Educated: 86.0%
Median Income: $212,132
Median Home Price: $1,101,200
More on Glencoe:  Cost Of Living

Hinsdale, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Teemu08 at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10
Population: 17,148
% Highly Educated: 81.0%
Median Income: $224,185
Median Home Price: $880,100
More on Hinsdale:  Cost Of Living

Lake Forest, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Teemu08 (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10
Population: 19,450
% Highly Educated: 81.0%
Median Income: $194,267
Median Home Price: $812,900
More on Lake Forest:  Cost Of Living

Wilmette, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Zol87 from Chicago, Illinois, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population: 27,895
% Highly Educated: 85.0%
Median Income: $173,967
Median Home Price: $710,400
More on Wilmette:  Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Western Springs, IL

Source: Wikipedia User MrHarman | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10
Population: 13,550
% Highly Educated: 81.0%
Median Income: $196,638
Median Home Price: $623,400
More on Western Springs:  Cost Of Living

Northfield, IL

Source: Wikipedia User 123dieinafire of English Wikipedia | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population: 5,853
% Highly Educated: 78.0%
Median Income: $160,331
Median Home Price: $743,600
More on Northfield:  Cost Of Living

Lake Bluff, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Teemu08 (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10
Population: 5,878
% Highly Educated: 78.0%
Median Income: $173,667
Median Home Price: $660,500
More on Lake Bluff:  Cost Of Living

Hawthorn Woods, IL

Source: Flickr User Peg Syverson | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10
Population: 8,959
% Highly Educated: 75.0%
Median Income: $213,605
Median Home Price: $560,900
More on Hawthorn Woods:  Cost Of Living

Deerfield, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Shsilver at English Wikipedia | CC BY 3.0 us
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10
Population: 19,228
% Highly Educated: 81.0%
Median Income: $168,568
Median Home Price: $529,600
More on Deerfield:  Cost Of Living

Methodology: How we determined the snobbiest cities in the Prairie State

Do you think wed just come up with this list willy-nilly? Not a chance – we only use Saturday Night Science around here.

We gathered up all of the places in Illinois with populations of 5,000 people or more. This left us with a total of 325 places. Then, we looked at each place in terms of these snoot-er-iffic criteria (And no, its not a word. English snob.):

  • Median home price (Higher is snobbier)
  • Median household income (Higher is snobbier)
  • Percent of population with a college degree (Higher is snobbier)

Turned out this simple criteria was much better at sniffing out the snobby places then more snobby criteria like:

  • Libaries per capita (Higher is snobbier)
  • Museums per capita (Higher is snobbier)
  • Private schools per capita (Higher is snobbier)

From there, we ranked each of our 325 places in each category with scores from one to 325. We then averaged each places ranking into one overall score, where the lowest score went to the snobbiest place in Illinois. So lets all flip a table in honor of Winnetka (with our pinkies up, of course.)

Before you get upset and ruin your blowout or something drastic here, lets remember that this is all in good fun. Would we live in one of these 10 places if we had the chance? Of course, we would.

And it’s not like your real estate agent would ever point out how snobby the town you’re moving to is. We’re here to keep you grounded, even if you’re wearing a monocle.

There You Have It – Now That You’re On Your High Horse

When it comes to snobbery, these places in Illinois are heading ever upward. Residents in these communities are well educated, well paid, and appear to have all the sophisticated culture and entertainment of an Ernst Lubitsch film right at their fingertips.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the most laid back places in Illinois, according to science:

  1. Cahokia
  2. East St. Louis
  3. West Frankfort

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Table: The Snobbiest Cities In Illinois For 2023

Rank City Population
1 Winnetka, IL 12,658
2 Glencoe, IL 8,824
3 Hinsdale, IL 17,148
4 Lake Forest, IL 19,450
5 Wilmette, IL 27,895
6 Western Springs, IL 13,550
7 Northfield, IL 5,853
8 Lake Bluff, IL 5,878
9 Hawthorn Woods, IL 8,959
10 Deerfield, IL 19,228
11 South Barrington, IL 5,012
12 Inverness, IL 7,684
13 Long Grove, IL 8,258
14 Burr Ridge, IL 11,167
15 Highland Park, IL 30,245
16 River Forest, IL 11,742
17 Lincolnshire, IL 7,905
18 Oak Brook, IL 8,178
19 Northbrook, IL 35,108
20 Libertyville, IL 20,616
21 Naperville, IL 149,013
22 Barrington, IL 11,174
23 Glen Ellyn, IL 28,506
24 Glenview, IL 48,150
25 Campton Hills, IL 10,468
26 La Grange, IL 16,220
27 Elmhurst, IL 45,661
28 Riverside, IL 9,346
29 Clarendon Hills, IL 8,707
30 Park Ridge, IL 39,562
31 Frankfort, IL 20,040
32 Buffalo Grove, IL 43,062
33 Geneva, IL 21,472
34 Winfield, IL 9,852
35 Wheaton, IL 53,762
36 Lake Barrington, IL 5,557
37 Plainfield, IL 44,296
38 Oak Park, IL 54,100
39 Lake Zurich, IL 19,807
40 Vernon Hills, IL 26,723
41 Lisle, IL 23,982
42 Downers Grove, IL 50,209
43 Arlington Heights, IL 77,283
44 La Grange Park, IL 13,501
45 Flossmoor, IL 9,868
46 Batavia, IL 26,261
47 Lemont, IL 17,535
48 Evanston, IL 78,454
49 Darien, IL 22,087
50 Itasca, IL 9,623
51 Lincolnwood, IL 13,358
52 St. Charles, IL 32,908
53 Mokena, IL 19,897
54 New Lenox, IL 26,942
55 Grayslake, IL 20,827
56 Spring Grove, IL 5,713
57 Bartlett, IL 41,126
58 Gurnee, IL 30,826
59 Homer Glen, IL 24,664
60 Algonquin, IL 29,869
61 Morton Grove, IL 25,004
62 Lake Villa, IL 8,741
63 Palos Heights, IL 12,116
64 West Dundee, IL 7,797
65 Willowbrook, IL 9,178
66 Mount Prospect, IL 56,510
67 Sugar Grove, IL 9,266
68 Mahomet, IL 9,297
69 Hoffman Estates, IL 52,153
70 Elburn, IL 5,981
71 Woodridge, IL 34,161
72 Palatine, IL 67,754
73 Johnsburg, IL 6,399
74 Oswego, IL 34,324
75 Cary, IL 17,919
76 Lindenhurst, IL 14,453
77 Skokie, IL 67,444
78 Columbia, IL 11,090
79 Shorewood, IL 17,947
80 Pingree Grove, IL 9,734
81 Highwood, IL 5,204
82 Gilberts, IL 8,220
83 Lombard, IL 44,311
84 Volo, IL 5,929
85 Orland Park, IL 58,622
86 Schaumburg, IL 78,053
87 Westmont, IL 24,632
88 Brookfield, IL 19,517
89 O’fallon, IL 31,963
90 South Elgin, IL 23,749
91 Willow Springs, IL 5,874
92 Carol Stream, IL 39,895
93 Bloomingdale, IL 22,436
94 Roselle, IL 23,000
95 Glen Carbon, IL 13,532
96 Westchester, IL 16,837
97 Wauconda, IL 14,068
98 Lockport, IL 26,070
99 Antioch, IL 14,705
100 Yorkville, IL 20,503
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

16 thoughts on “The 10 Snobbiest Places In Illinois For 2023

  1. “We’re probably going to see a lot of Chicago suburbs on this list.” um yeah, you wrote an article about Chicago suburbs…

  2. What a load of anti-intellectual tripe. I’d invite you to visit Glencoe — heck, come over to my house and meet some of my friends and neighbors — to see that either you don’t know what a “snob” is or you’ve grossly overestimated the value of your “proxy” for snobbery.

  3. Yeah not factual at all. Numbers only can say so much, but an article using numbers and statistics to create an opinion article? That’s extremely wrong…go visit these places and interact with the people so that you can back up your statistics. We might be an area of high income, but I’ve seen much worse than the North Shore. Another thing, consider why these areas are like they are. My family moved to Wilmette for the well known education system.
    This article should be re-written.

    1. Your well known education wasn’t good enough to read the disclaimer at the top of the article, “This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.”
      What do I know, I graduated from the good old Chicago Public school system? By the way, “My family moved to Wilmette for the well known education system.” certainly qualifies you as a snob. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Like the writer said, most of us are jealous of you. This was a very “tongue and cheek” type article. I wouldn’t take it too seriously. 🙂

  4. I am from Glencoe and I do NOT appreciate being called the snobbiest town in Illinois, thank you very much. I would also say that nobody else who lives here likes it either. Yes, we are a wealthy town, but there is a fine fine line between snobby and wealthy. Plus, since the houses get more expensive as they get closer to the lake and Glencoe is right on the lake, the houses will obviously be expensive!!!! That comment that you said about the art galleries and theatres, that’s just because we all like performing arts!! You guys are very ignorant and have no place at all in saying that my town is the snobbiest town in Illinois.

  5. “odds are, many attend private schools.” keyword odds are. There aren’t even any private schools here!!!! The only schools here in Glencoe are public schools. You people are way off.

  6. Here’s some snobiness from a resident of the top snobbiest town in Illinois! Wherefore art thou relevance in thou article?

  7. I don’t see how there’s a correlation between private school attendance and “snobbiness”. My parents both worked ridiculously hard to send my sister and I to private school. Hardly snobby, I’d say.

    1. Should be”my sister and ME”!
      All of that hard work to educate you, so you can moiyder the king’s English

  8. Absolutely hilarious to observe the outpouring of banter. Take a good look at it … en masse.

    ” … Methinks thou dost protest too much … ”

    Simply. Look within.

  9. Lol no one in the north shore (or most people) go to private school, the public schools are some of the best in the country.

  10. Does someone want to explain to me why Kenilworth isn’t on here? What a terrible article. I’m from Wilmette and some people here live in town homes and apartments. What a disgusting assumption that everyone in these communities are snobby. Such a simple-minded way of thinking.

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