Cook County, IL vs Polk County, IA

Every published reading for both counties side by side, with the better figure marked on each row. Open the live comparison to add up to two more counties.

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Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

Dollar for dollar

Reading	Cook CountyIllinois	Polk CountyIowa
Home valueThe median value of homes that their owners live in. Half the county's owner-lived homes are worth more than this and half are worth less.	$324,500	$262,100
Price ratioThe median home value divided by the median household income. It tells you how many years of full income it takes to equal the home price. A lower number means homes are easier to afford.	3.9x income$324,500	3.1x income$262,100
RentThe median monthly rent for a whole rented home of any size, from a studio to five or more bedrooms. It is not rent per bedroom. Gross means utilities are counted on top of the rent. Half the county's rentals cost less than this and half cost more.	$1,435/mo	$1,149/mo
Childcare costThe cost of child care for two children as a share of the county's median household income. It is a share, not a dollar price.	29.0% of income	21.9% of income
ElectricityRoughly what the county's middle household pays for electricity each month, counting only homes that get an electricity bill. The Census reports this in $50-wide brackets. The ~ figure is the middle of that bracket, so the true median is within about $25 of it. Bills vary a lot with home size, climate and thermostat habits. This is what residents pay, not a quote for your home.	~$75	~$125
GasRoughly what the county's middle gas-billed household pays each month. The Census reports this in brackets, and the ~ figure is the middle of the bracket. Homes with no gas service are not counted. In many counties that is most homes, and an all-electric home would pay nothing here.	~$87	~$87
Water & sewer (yearly)Roughly what the county's middle billed household pays for water and sewer each YEAR, not each month like the electricity and gas figures next to it. The Census reports this in brackets, and the ~ figure is the middle of the bracket. Homes on private wells, or with water included in the rent, are not counted.	~$625	~$625
Household incomeThe yearly income of a whole household, with every earner added together. It is not one person's pay. Median means half the county's households earn more than this and half earn less.	$83,498	$83,576

Electricity and gas brackets are monthly; water & sewer is yearly. Household income is context, not a cost. There is no total row because these measures mix dollars, ratios and brackets, and a sum of them would be an invented number.

Head-to-head

The trophy marks the better reading on each row. A row with no trophy is a tie or a reading one source did not publish.

Cost of Living

Reading	Cook County	Polk County
Median Home ValueThe median value of homes that their owners live in. Half the county's owner-lived homes are worth more than this and half are worth less.	$324,500	$262,100
Home Price-to-Income RatioThe median home value divided by the median household income. It tells you how many years of full income it takes to equal the home price. A lower number means homes are easier to afford.	3.9x income$324,500	3.1x income$262,100
Rent BurdenA year of rent for a whole home (median gross rent times 12, any size) as a share of median household income. Below 30% is counted as affordable. Above 30% is counted as cost-burdened.	20.6% of income$1,435	16.5% of income$1,149
Median Gross RentThe median monthly rent for a whole rented home of any size, from a studio to five or more bedrooms. It is not rent per bedroom. Gross means utilities are counted on top of the rent. Half the county's rentals cost less than this and half cost more.	$1,435	$1,149
Property Tax Bill (Current Owners, Yearly)The median yearly property tax paid by the people who own homes here now. Homes held for many years are often taxed on an old value, so a new buyer usually pays more than this. The gap is much bigger where the tax value resets at sale (California, Florida, Texas and seven more states; each county's page says which rule applies). We withhold the figure where the Census caps it at $10,000 or more, or where its margin of error is wide.	$6,191	$4,396
Property Tax Rate (Current Owners)The median yearly property tax paid, divided by the median home value, for the people who own homes here now. It is not the rate a buyer signs up for. Caps on tax value and homestead tax breaks pull this below what a new purchase pays everywhere, and far below it where the value resets at sale.	1.91%	1.68%
Homes PermittedNew privately owned homes approved by building permits in 2025, in buildings of every size. A permit lets a home be built. It does not mean the home is finished.	4,969 homes	4,730 homes
Homes Permitted per 1,000 ResidentsThe year's permitted homes for every 1,000 people who live in the county. Resort and second-home counties run high for their population. The national figure runs near 4 per 1,000.	1.0 per 1,000 residents	9.4 per 1,000 residents
Child Care Cost BurdenThe cost of child care for two children as a share of the county's median household income. It is a share, not a dollar price.	29.0% of income	21.9% of income
Electricity Bill (Middle Household)Roughly what the county's middle household pays for electricity each month, counting only homes that get an electricity bill. The Census reports this in $50-wide brackets. The ~ figure is the middle of that bracket, so the true median is within about $25 of it. Bills vary a lot with home size, climate and thermostat habits. This is what residents pay, not a quote for your home.	~$75	~$125
Gas Bill (Middle Household)Roughly what the county's middle gas-billed household pays each month. The Census reports this in brackets, and the ~ figure is the middle of the bracket. Homes with no gas service are not counted. In many counties that is most homes, and an all-electric home would pay nothing here.	~$87	~$87
Water & Sewer Bill (Middle Household, Yearly)Roughly what the county's middle billed household pays for water and sewer each YEAR, not each month like the electricity and gas figures next to it. The Census reports this in brackets, and the ~ figure is the middle of the bracket. Homes on private wells, or with water included in the rent, are not counted.	~$625	~$625

Jobs & Income

Reading	Cook County	Polk County
Median Household IncomeThe yearly income of a whole household, with every earner added together. It is not one person's pay. Median means half the county's households earn more than this and half earn less.	$83,498	$83,576
Unemployment RateThe share of people in the labor force who are out of work and looking. We withhold the figure where the Census reports a zero with a margin of error, because that means a tiny sample, not full employment.	7.0%ACS	4.4%ACS

Health & Healthcare

Reading	Cook County	Polk County
Life ExpectancyThe average number of years a newborn here can expect to live. In counties with few recorded deaths, County Health Rankings' own range of doubt can span more than ten years. In those cases we treat the estimate as missing and show a modeled figure instead, marked as such. Shown for context only. It does not feed the fit score.	77.4 yrs	77.2 yrs
Poor or Fair HealthThe share of adults who say their general health is poor or fair. This one measure reflects many things at once, such as smoking, obesity, inactivity and child poverty.	17.5%	17.0%
Uninsured RateThe share of people with no health insurance.	9.7%	5.5%
Health IndexA combined score from 0 to 100, built from five County Health Rankings health outcomes. Higher is healthier. It is shown only where at least three of the five are published. Shown for context only, because its inputs already score on their own, and counting it too would count them twice.	69/100	68/100
Injury DeathsDeaths from all injuries, accidents and violence together, for every 100,000 people, averaged over five years. It counts recorded deaths, not reported crime. It replaced an earlier score that was modeled from income and education rather than measured.	83 per 100k	77 per 100k
Premature Death RateYears of life lost before age 75, for every 100,000 people. Lower is better.	8,536 per 100k	7,653 per 100k
Adult Obesity RateThe share of adults with a body mass index of 30 or higher.	32.8%	38.9%
Adult Smoking RateThe share of adults who smoke cigarettes now.	12.0%	17.7%
Physical Inactivity RateThe share of adults who say they get no physical activity in their free time.	20.9%	24.2%
Diabetes PrevalenceThe share of adults who have been diagnosed with diabetes.	10.8%	10.0%
Child Poverty RateThe share of children under 18 who live in poverty.	17.2%	15.3%
Food InsecurityThe share of people who do not have reliable access to enough food.	12.1%	10.2%

Commute & Daily Life

Reading	Cook County	Polk County
Mean Commute TimeThe average one-way travel time to work.	32 min	20 min
Income InequalityHow many times larger a high household income (the 80th percentile) is than a low one (the 20th percentile). A higher number means a bigger gap between rich and poor.	5.43x	4.05x
Broadband AccessThe share of households with a broadband internet connection.	89.2%	90.5%
Child Care CentersLicensed child care centers for every 1,000 children under five. This measures how many centers there are, not what they cost.	4.6 per 1,000 children	7.7 per 1,000 children

Environment & Disaster Risk

Reading	Cook County	Polk County
Natural Hazard RiskWhere this county ranks among all US counties for the expected yearly dollar loss from natural hazards (18 kinds). FEMA builds it from how often hazards strike, the people and property in harm's way, and how well the community can cope. It ranks dollars at stake, not how often disasters happen. A big city with rare hazards can outrank a rural county with frequent ones, because more is exposed.	100th pctile	92nd pctile
Wildfire RiskWhere this county ranks among all US counties for expected yearly dollar loss to wildfire: how often fires strike, times the people and property in the burnable area. Counties with valuable property rank high even when fires are rare.	56th pctile	58th pctile
Hurricane RiskWhere this county ranks among all US counties for expected yearly dollar loss to hurricanes. Inland counties that FEMA marks as not applicable show no value rather than a zero, so about a quarter of counties have no figure here.	49th pctile	27th pctile
Tornado RiskWhere this county ranks among all US counties for expected yearly dollar loss to tornadoes: how often they strike, times the people and property in their path. A crowded county where tornadoes are truly rare can still rank in the 70s, because one rare strike on a city costs more than frequent strikes on empty plains. It ranks dollars at stake, not how often.	100th pctile	98th pctile
Earthquake RiskWhere this county ranks among all US counties for expected yearly dollar loss to earthquakes. Rare but severe fault lines dominate. A county can go decades without a quake and still rank near the top, because the eventual quake is priced in.	98th pctile	67th pctile
Flood RiskWhere this county ranks among all US counties for expected yearly dollar loss to flooding, taking the higher of coastal or river flooding.	100th pctile	92nd pctile
Good Air Quality DaysThe share of monitored days when the Air Quality Index (AQI) was in the Good range, 0 to 50. Higher is better.	28.0%	46.0%
Median Air Quality IndexThe median daily Air Quality Index for the year. Below 50 is Good. 51 to 100 is Moderate. Above 100 is unhealthy.	AQI 57	AQI 52

Schools & Education

Reading	Cook County	Polk County
High School Graduation RateThe share of public high school students who graduate within four years of starting ninth grade.	88.3%	92.5%
Bachelor's Degree or HigherThe share of adults 25 and older who hold a bachelor's degree or higher. We withhold the figure where the margin of error is as large as the figure itself.	42.7%	40.3%
Graduate Degree RateThe share of adults 25 and older who hold a graduate or professional degree.	18.0%	13.1%
College Enrollment RateThe share of the county's 18 to 24 year olds who are enrolled in college or graduate school. It mostly shows whether a campus sits in the county, not how educated the county is overall. We withhold the figure where the margin of error is over 20 points, or where a zero carries any margin.	41.2%	32.1%
3rd-Grade Reading ScoresHow third graders in the county's school districts did on reading tests, as an average grade level. 3.0 means on grade level. Higher means ahead of it.	3.0 grade level	3.0 grade level
3rd-Grade Math ScoresHow third graders in the county's school districts did on math tests, as an average grade level. 3.0 means on grade level. Higher means ahead of it.	2.9 grade level	3.0 grade level
K-12 Education IndexA combined score from 0 to 100, built from two school measures: the graduation rate and child poverty. It is shown only where both are published. Shown for context only, because the graduation rate already scores on its own.	75/100	81/100
Higher Education IndexA combined score from 0 to 100 for college education and access. Higher is better. It is shown only where at least two of its three inputs are published. Shown for context only, because degree attainment and college enrollment already score on their own.	63/100	51/100

Community Size

Reading	Cook County	Polk County
PopulationEveryone who lives in the county. Shown to three figures, so 1.58M means about 1,580,000 people. Counties under 10,000 show the exact count.	5.18M	503K

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one for that county, and a dash never wins a row.

US Census ACS 5-year · updated yearly
Derived from Census ACS 5-year (home value ÷ income)
Derived from Census ACS 5-year ((rent × 12) ÷ income)
US Census ACS 5-year (B25103) · updated yearly
Derived from Census ACS 5-year (property tax ÷ home value)
US Census ACS 5-year (B25132) · updated yearly
US Census ACS 5-year (B25133) · updated yearly
US Census ACS 5-year (B25134) · updated yearly
Census ACS baseline · BLS LAUS latest monthly for pinned counties
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · CDC data
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF)
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · BRFSS
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · Census SAHIE
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · CDC
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · Census SAIPE
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · Census ACS
Derived from County Health Rankings 2025
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · CDC NCHS
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · Feeding America
US Census Building Permits Survey, annual 2025 · updated yearly
Derived from the Census Building Permits Survey (units ÷ ACS population)
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · DOL + Census SAIPE
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · HRSA + state licensing
FEMA National Risk Index 2023
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · NCES EDFacts
County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · Stanford Education Data Archive
Derived from US Census ACS 5-year
US Census ACS 5-year (DP02) · updated yearly
US Census ACS 5-year (S1401) · updated yearly
EPA AQS Annual AQI by County 2023

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