Numbers are fun, aren’t they. They come from all directions; we hear them and then forget them, and then different numbers are reported contradicting the first set of numbers that we forgot. It’s almost like the weather report. Who can remember what the weather person said last night about the weather tomorrow.
One report from Niche.com ranks Naperville as “America’s safest city”, while another report from Movoto.com ranks Naperville #11 in crime….and that’s just in the state of Illinois. The City of Naperville chose to shine a light on the Niche.com and bury the ranking by Movoto.com.
It was also reported by Northern Illinois University that Naperville’s population rose 2.7% between 2010 and 2014 to 146,128, that’s about 2 people per day during that four year period. Not exactly a stampede of folks to Naperville.
Mayor Steve Chirico estimated that Naperville will max out at about 150,000 people. Based on the current population, if Chirico’s number is accurate, we should hit our limit by the year 2020, or only five years from now. The mayor was quoted as saying, “Soon we won’t be a growing community; we will be a maintenance community.” Maybe so, but Chicago is still packing them in after all these years.
Considering the high density Water Street Project, there may be no limit to other high density ‘projects’ being approved in Naperville resulting in no limit to Naperville’s population. Naperville’s population has never been this high, and it can also be said that Naperville’s population may never be this low again.
Movoto’s Top Ten ranking of the 50 largest cities or townships in Illinois when it comes to places to live include:
- Village of Northbrook
- City of Highland Park
- Village of Glenview
- City of Park Ridge
- City of Elmhurst
- City of Wheaton
- Village of Arlington Heights
- Village of Downers Grove
- Village of Palatine
- Village of Mount Prospect
You have to work your way down the list past #11 Normal, and #12 Oak Park to get to Naperville at #13.
Movoto (a real estate website) used the following six criteria for the rankings along with where Naperville ranked for each:
- Amenities (shopping, dining, entertainment, etc.) #44
- Cost of Living (percent above or below state average) #40
- Crime (percent above or below state average) #11
- Education (high school graduation rate compared to state average) #1
- Employment (income and unemployment compared to state average) #4
- Home value (percent above or below state average) #5
There is no doubt that Naperville is a great place to live as long as you don’t mind being #13.
It is generally possible to find a study to substantiate a preconceived opinion.