Sometimes, nothing beats small town charm.

Illinois is packed with picturesque small towns that offer tons of history and character. In fact, they stand out so much that some of them made the rankings among the Best Small Cities to Live in America in 2021. WalletHub, a personal finance site, compiled the list. Here’s how they did it:

“…WalletHub compared more than 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 43 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs to school-system quality to restaurants per capita.

“Given the large sample of cities ranked in this study, we grouped cities by percentile. The 99th percentile represents the top 1 percent of small cities in America.”

So, which of the small cities in Illinois are among the best in the U.S.? These are the Top 5 that stood out, according to WalletHub:

Elmhurst, IL
Highland Park, IL
Wheaton, IL
Park Ridge, IL
Glen Ellyn, IL

See the rest of the best small cities in Illinois below. See the rest of the list from WalletHub here.

Downers Grove, IL
Wilmette, IL
Buffalo Grove, IL
Algonquin, IL
Mundelein, IL
Batava, IL
Glwnview, IL
Plainfield, IL
St. Charles, IL
Northbrook, IL
Lombard, IL
Huntley, IL
Carol Stream, IL
Bartlett, IL
Vernon Hills, IL
Arlington Heights, IL
Palatine, IL
Schaumburg, IL
West Chicago, IL
Orland Park, IL
Elk Grove Village, IL
New Lenox, IL
Tinley Park, IL
Lockport, IL
Lake in the Hills, IL
Crystal Lake, IL
Mount Prospect, IL
Woodridge, IL
Evanston, IL
McHenry, IL
Des Plaines, IL
Bolingbrook, IL
Hoffman Estates, IL
Hanover Park, IL
Oak Forest, IL
Westmont, IL
Niles, IL
Bloomington, IL
Oswego, IL
Wheeling, IL
Gurnee, IL
Round Lake Beach, IL
Normal, IL
Glendale Heights, IL
Addison, IL
Carpentersville, IL
Woodstock, IL
Steamwood, IL
Romeoville, IL
Oak Park, IL
Burbank, IL
O’Fallon, IL
Urbana, IL
Quincy, IL
Skokie, IL
Moline, IL
Berwyn, IL
Oak Lawn, IL
Pekin, IL
Belvidere, IL
North Chicago, IL
Rock Island, IL
Waukegan, IL
Champaign, IL
Melrose Park, IL
Cicero, IL
DeKalb, IL
Galesburg, IL
Belleville, IL
Chicago Heights, IL
Decatur, IL
Granite City, IL
Calumet City, IL
Alton, IL
Lansing, IL
East St. Louis, IL
Kankakee, IL
Danville, IL

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