Great schools, a sense of community, a strong workforce and attainable housing make Illinois an excellent place to flourish.
Ilinois is ranked highly for being a great place to live and prosper. Chicago recently was recognized as the Best Big City in the U.S. for the eighth consecutive year by Condé Nast Traveler. Both residents and people traveling to the state will benefit from outdoorsy activities with over 60 state parks, 700 miles of trails and 5,000 miles of the state highway system that welcome cyclists.
If indoor activities are more your scene, Chicago is also home to an iconic improv and stand-up comedy scene that has produced legends Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert. The city also touts a thriving theater district and live music events including Lollapalooza and Chicago blues bars such as Kingston Mines and House of Blues.
The Windy City was also named a top 10 moving destination, coming in at number eight on the list compiled by Penske Truck Rental, which compiles its ranking based on data from one-way consumer truck rentals. Survey participants cited closer proximity to loved ones, better job opportunities, lower cost of living and needing more space as reasons to move to Chicago.
The Garden of the Gods is a 3,318-acre park designated as a U.S. Wilderness Area. It is in the Shawnee National Forest in Hardin, Pope, Saline and Gallatin counties in Illinois.
Photos: Getty Images
Naperville Triumphs
With straight A’s in the areas of public schools, housing, jobs, diversity, outdoor activities, health & fitness and family friendliness, Naperville was recently rated by Niche as the No. 1 best city to live in America.
“Naperville is a special place. We have all the traditional things that make a community attractive: top notch schools, ample retail and restaurant options, museums and art, an affordable cost of living, safe and well-maintained streets, and an excellent transportation system,” says Monica Conners, president of the Naperville Development Partnership & Convention & Visitors Bureau. “But the secret sauce to Naperville is our sense of community. Residents whose families have been here for generations, as well as new residents who have been here for just a short time, all take pride in living here, care about each other and want to see this city succeed.”
The American Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) was held in the city earlier this year, where a group toured Ecolab’s Water University (a high-tech water management learning environment owned by Nalco Water) and visited the Naper Settlement to learn about the Naperville Riverwalk. The Naper Settlement is a 12-acre outdoor history museum comprising 30 historical buildings and structures.
Take a leisurely stroll on the Riverwalk, the “Crown Jewel” of Naperville made of brick-paved winding paths along the DuPage River. Safety can be assured as the Chicago suburb was one of four Illinois cities — in addition to Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove and Palatine — to make U.S. News & World Report’s Safest Places to Live in the U.S.
“As the third largest city in Illinois, Naperville’s community pride is reflected in our Riverwalk, our award-winning parks and libraries and our neighborhoods,” Conners says. “Decisions that citizens made decades ago are still bearing fruit and inspire others to have a long-term perspective for the benefit of the city’s future.”
Top of the Class
Illinois is also tough to outclass when it comes to education, ranked as the third best state in this category by CNBC’s 2025 Best States for Business and as fourth-best in K-12 education and fifth-best in college readiness according to U.S. News’ 2025 Best States rankings.
When asked to grade the quality of education in the state, vice president of communications at Illinois EDC Amanda Vinicky says, “A-plus. From pre-K to higher education, Illinois has a dynamic education ecosystem that ultimately helps fuel one of the best and largest workforces in the nation.”
The state has 673 nationally ranked high schools, a robust community college system, the first community college in the U.S. (Joliet Junior College) and top universities like Northwestern and University of Chicago.
The Illinois school-to-workforce pipeline is supported by the fact that the state has the largest labor force in the Midwest (6.5 million people) and strong partnerships between educational institutions and businesses.
Building a Workforce
“Illinois is investing in its workforce like never before to ensure it can continue to support emerging, high-growth sectors like quantum, manufacturing and clean energy,” Vinicky says.
A good example is TCCI Manufacturing’s collaboration with Richland Community College at its new Clean Energy Innovation Hub in Decatur, Illinois — one of the first recipients of the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois).
“One of the hub’s core components is its Clean Energy Workforce Academy, a first-of-its-kind clean energy education model,” Vinicky says. “The state is dedicated to building and training a clean energy workforce, as evidenced by a state law, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.”
In early 2024, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) joined Heartland Community College to celebrate its new Advanced Manufacturing Training Center, funded in part by a $7.5 million capital grant as part of the state’s larger $15 million manufacturing training academy investment. The training facility will prepare students to meet the growing needs of the state’s expanding EV industry (see p. 58 for more).
Illinois is also not shy about investing in the trades. The Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program, an initiative that seeks to jumpstart participants’ paths to the trades, has nearly 21,000 active members and counting as the fifth round of applications for the program opened this past summer.
Those members are part of an Illinois population that grew last year by nearly 68,000 residents, adding to an overall total of nearly 12.8 million people whose backgrounds are as diverse as the state’s industry mix.
“One of Illinois’ foundational strengths as a world-class business destination is stability. Illinois has tremendous diversity in people, industry and infrastructure,” Vinicky says. “No one industry makes up more than 13% of our state’s economy, and the Washington Post even named Illinois the most representative state in the U.S.”
Classic car on Route 66 — the most iconic road in Illinois.
Photo courtesy of Illinois Office of Tourism
The Power of Community Planning
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has developed a statewide planning tool, the Quality-of-Life Index (QOLI), that is used to determine areas of high livability within the state. The QOLI is census tract-based and used to bring awareness to what aspects make communities stronger and better for residents.
“The Quality-of-Life Index (QOLI) was designed to replace Opportunity Areas as a site location tool for competitive 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) applications,” says Andrew Field, assistant director of government & public affairs specialist at IHDA.
The intended end-uses for the QOLI are both internal IHDA employees and external developers looking for sites to develop LIHTC properties. The IHDA uses QOLI as part of the competitive scoring for 9% LIHTC developments.
“The QOLI score is a dynamic measurement of cumulative positive outcome measurements in five different QOLI categories: education, prosperity, health, housing, and connectivity,” Field says. “The mission of the IHDA is to finance the construction and/or preservation of affordable housing. IHDA does not allocate funding for commercial or business purposes, solely residential. However, IHDA has had discussions with universities and non-profits about QOLI. Most recently, IHDA has been assisting the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago in developing their own QOLI for Illinois and Wisconsin.”
The IHDA has provided more than $52 million in down payment assistance to nearly 5,000 first-time homebuying individuals and families in fiscal year 2024. Further, the Illinois Housing Development Authority created or maintained more than 3,000 units of affordable housing through more than $1.3 billion in financing.
“IHDA’s work extends to every county in Illinois, underscoring the belief that stable housing is fundamental to individual well-being, safety, and overall success” Field says. “Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Housing Development Authority are dedicated to expanding housing opportunities and revitalizing existing homes across the state. IHDA offers a comprehensive suite of resources, including loans, bonds, grants and tax credits, to finance the construction of affordable rental housing.
“We also provide down payment assistance to help families achieve homeownership,” Field adds, “and offer free planning and capacity-building services to assist local governments in identifying housing needs and strategizing for the future.”
