?WhereToHQ

Residential comparison · 13 facts

Crystal Lake, IL vs DeKalb, IL

Compare the housing, tax, cost, income, safety, school, and climate facts that are available for both places. The table shows the numbers without declaring one city universally better.

A household earning $85,000 in Crystal Lake needs about $79,500 in DeKalb to keep the same lifestyle.
Coming from DeKalb, $85,000 of lifestyle costs about $90,500 in Crystal Lake.

A few differences

Crystal Lake vs DeKalb · facet by facet
FacetCrystal Lake, ILDeKalb, IL
Median home price$311,400$204,700
2-bedroom rent$1,449/mo$1,043/mo
Property tax rate2.1%2.1%
State & local income tax4.95%4.95%
Sales tax8.85%8.85%
Cost of living index9785
Groceries index9898
Utilities$165/mo$165/mo
Median household income$108,418$46,481
Unemployment rate4.7%4.7%
Crime index50/10050/100
School rating6.3/106.3/10
Sunny days / year190 days190 days

Data: Census ACS 2024 · BLS · Tax Foundation 2024 brackets · HUD/Zillow · NOAA 1991–2020 · FEMA NRI · Values are shown as reported; no universal winner is implied.

Full profiles: Crystal Lake, IL · DeKalb, IL
Questions & answers
Is Crystal Lake cheaper than DeKalb?
DeKalb has the lower day-to-day cost index (85 vs 97 against a national 100). The other differences are shown facet by facet in the table.
What household income in DeKalb equals $85,000 in Crystal Lake?
A household earning $85,000 in Crystal Lake needs about $79,500 in DeKalb to keep the same lifestyle; coming the other way, $85,000 of DeKalb lifestyle costs about $90,500 in Crystal Lake.