Joliet, IL, known as 'City of Steel,' offers a unique blend of suburban tranquility and modern urban amenities. Located in Will and Kendall counties, Joliet is a large city that serves as a major cultural and economic hub. Major nearby cities like Chicago (40 miles) and Aurora (20 miles) enhance its status as a central point in the region. Joliet's blend of historic landmarks, cultural festivals, and urban amenities creates a distinctive living experience.
Joliet is home to several iconic landmarks, including the Joliet Area Historical Museum, the historic Rialto Square Theatre, and the scenic Pilcher Park Nature Center. The city offers a variety of attractions, from the beautiful Joliet Iron Works Historic Site to the bustling Louis Joliet Mall, known for its shopping and dining. Joliet's dining scene is diverse, offering everything from Midwestern cuisine to international dishes.
Annual events such as the Joliet Blues Festival and the Joliet PrideFest highlight the city's vibrant cultural scene and provide unique entertainment opportunities for residents and visitors. These events celebrate Joliet's rich cultural heritage and community spirit. Prestigious institutions like the University of St. Francis contribute to the city's academic and cultural vibrancy, fostering a thriving intellectual community.
The arts and culture scene in Joliet is dynamic and diverse, with numerous theaters, music venues, and art galleries. The Joliet Public Library and the Joliet Junior College Fine Arts Theatre are just a few of the cultural landmarks that showcase the city's commitment to the arts. Living in Joliet provides ample opportunities to engage with art, music, and history, making it an exciting place to call home.
Joliet’s community is welcoming and diverse, creating a friendly environment for newcomers. The city is home to professional sports teams like the Joliet Slammers (Frontier League), providing plenty of excitement for sports fans. Major industries in Joliet include logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing, with significant employers such as Amazon and Silver Cross Hospital driving economic growth. The city has extensive public transit options, including buses and Metra trains, making commuting convenient for residents.
Commute
High scores in the commute category could indicate that this area offers short commute times to work and readily available public transportation options.
Cost Of Living
Residents in this area benefit from an affordable cost of living. This includes goods and services, transportation, housing, utilities, groceries and healthcare.
Employment
This area scores extremely well in the employment category. This is primarily due to the combination of low unemployment rates, higher median home income and income per capita.
Housing
The housing category in this area boasts higher than average scores, likely influenced by a positive home affordability ratio, robust appreciation rates or elevated home values.
Schools
Factors such as lower than average graduation rates, lackluster reading and math scores and the limited accessibility of local elementary and high schools could contribute to the low schools score.
Joliet, Illinois is a mid-sized city with a population of 147,323 people. More than a quarter of the residents of Joliet identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino, and 24% of the population speak Spanish as their primary or secondary language. Long, unnecessary commutes can be both frustrating and inconvenient when heading to work. Nationwide, the average one-way commute time takes 26 minutes, but regrettably, residing in Joliet entails a longer-than-average one-way commute time, averaging 30 minutes.
Are you trying to decide if living in Joliet is the right fit for your lifestyle? To ensure a good experience before relocating to any new city in Illinois, you will probably want to make sure that you check all of the most important boxes. Several key factors deserve attention. For one, safety is paramount, ensuring that your new area is low in crime is key. Proximity to workplaces or schools minimizes commute times and fosters convenience. Access to essential amenities like parks, grocery stores, food, fitness, shops and healthcare facilities enhances daily life. Efficient public transportation options provide mobility and connectivity. The sense of community creates a welcoming and supportive environment. Lastly, the overall atmosphere, encompassing the vibe, aesthetics, and lifestyle offerings, contributes to a fulfilling living experience. Considering these elements helps identify the ideal neighborhood for your needs and preferences. Finding the best places to live in Joliet and nearby areas is a much easier task when you can rely on information and data from the livability score, which includes crime, cost of living, health & safety, employment, housing and other important metrics.
Joliet, IL receives 75 out of 100 for its livability score; this results in a ranking of #158 in Illinois and #3,352 in the USA. Pack your bags! This is a very high score in comparison to other US cities. Living in Joliet could be a great choice! If we examine each of the categories individually, we see that Joliet ranks well for cost of living (B+), employment (B+) and housing (A+). On a more negative note, Joliet does not have favorable scores for the following: education (F). If we take a look at the data, we can find out why.
For home buyers, real estate will be the largest purchase they will ever make and it will also be their most valuable asset. For renters, the monthly rent paid on their Joliet apartments will most likely be their largest expense. Based on tangible metrics like home and rental affordability and appreciation rates, housing in this area has received a score that is well above the average of every other US city. A thriving real estate market can also generate strong local economic activity and job creation.
Certain items on your wish list like shopping, restaurants, nightlife, parks and proximity to public transportation are all important things to look for. Having said that, perhaps the most important metric to consider when contemplating a move to Joliet is real estate affordability. Median real estate prices in Joliet come in at $193,100, which is 10.5% higher than the Illinois average. The home price to income ratio compares the median home prices to the median household income. In Joliet, the home price to income ratio is 2.7, which is 10% lower than the Illinois average.
| Statistic | Joliet | Illinois | National |
| Average one way commute | 30min | 29min | 26min |
| Workers who drive to work | 83.3% | 73.4% | 76.4% |
| Workers who carpool | 8.4% | 8.3% | 9.3% |
| Workers who take public transit | 1.9% | 9.2% | 5.1% |
| Workers who bicycle | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Workers who walk | 1.0% | 3.1% | 2.8% |
| Working from home | 4.3% | 4.4% | 4.6% |
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