Downers Grove, Illinois is a medium-sized suburb of Chicago in south DuPage County, about 22 miles west of Chicago, and encompasses the zip codes 60515 and 60516. With its adjoining neighborhoods, the Downers Grove area ranks as the 30th largest community in the USA. Forbes magazine has listed Downers Grove as one of the friendliest towns in America, and its excellent schools earned the Village inclusion as one of the Top 10 Livable Cities for Children by Livability.com.
According to the 2010 American Community Survey figures, the median household income for Downers Grove residents was $84,269, with the figures higher for families: $98,623 – not surprising given the high employment in IT and related well-paying occupations.
The majority of Downers Grove’s well-educated residents are employed in computer-related and technical occupations, as well as in sales, management and professional occupations. These include: Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, DeVry University, Inc., Sanford (manufacturers of the well-known ‘Sharpie’ and ‘Paper Mate’ writing products), Pepperidge Farm baked goods, Midwestern University, State Far, and Ambitech Engineering.
There are numerous industrial and corporate parks in the area as well, employing hundreds more from Downers Grove and the surrounding areas.
The highest percentage of households in Downers Grove are made up of married couples with no children (59.1 percent), followed by families with children under age 18 (32.2 percent), then single childless householders, followed by single-parent families.
Slightly over half the population (50.7 percent) of Downers Grove holds at least a bachelor degree. This is substantially higher than the national average of 27.9 percent. These higher educational levels are reflected in a higher-than-average number of residents employed in IT and related technical and professional occupations.
The community’s emphasis on quality education carries over to the support that residents give their school system: Downers Grove has 12 public elementary and 2 middle schools (O’Neil and Herrick) as well as two high schools. Downers Grove North High School dates from the early 20th century and Downers Grove South High School, built in 1964. The school districts (68 and 99) are among the top-performing in the country, with an average ACT score of 22.6 as of 2006 figures, or 2.3 points above the state average.
Midwest University offers training in the fields of osteopathic medicine, physical therapy and pharmacy, occupying the site of the former George Williams College campus on the north side of the Village.
The Village was founded in 1832 by its namesake, Pierce Downer, a religious evangelist who came west from New York, and was soon joined by other early families, including the Curtiss, Blodgett and Carpenters, who are named in several major streets. The first school was built in 1844, and many of its citizens (119) fought in the Civil War, serving in the Union Army.
The Village of Downers Grove became incorporated in 1873 and remained for the most part a small town along the railway between the farmlands further west and Chicago, until the 1950's, when the expansion of highways opened up additional routes accessing the Village. Much of its recent growth between 1950 and 1970 (an increase of over 18,000) is due to its location at the intersections of I-88 (begun in 1958) and I-355 (built in 1989) as well its easy accessibility by expressways and other major highways.
Downers Grove real estate housing prices remain among the highest not only in Illinois but nationwide, with the median home price in 2015 rising to $349,500, up 2.8 % from the previous year. One concern of some housing advocates is the high number of tear-downs that have displaced much of the housing stock available to lower-income families. The larger homes that have replaced the older smaller ones have created water run-off problems in some parts of the Village; however, this is being addressed and remedies are being undertaken to relieve flooding issues.
Housing consists of a mix of both newer and older homes, many of which are located near the center of town and are of historic significance, such as the Blodgett House built in 1846, recently moved to the Downers Grove Museum Campus. There are a number of Sears-Roebuck Catalog Homes (sold under the name of ‘Sears Modern Homes’) built from kits between 1908 and 1940 that still survive, with some listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The housing built in the years since WWII reflects the many changes in architectural tastes and budgets since the 1940's, including split levels, two-story colonials, ranches and it is not unusual to find an ultra-modern residence next door to a stately 1880's mansion.
Downtown Downers Grove is a delightful place to spend a Saturday afternoon shopping and sight-seeing. In the summer between late May and early October, an open air Farmers Market at the Main Street train station draws shoppers from the surrounding areas. Following a flurry of remodeling downtown over the past half-dozen years, a number of new businesses have taken up residence including the Lemon Tree bistro and grocery across from the Main Street train station, the Olive Tap, and Caribou Coffee, while old-timers like specialty clothing store Muriel Mundy remain a mainstay of the downtown.
The area is surrounded by several good shopping centers: The Grove, on the northwest corner of Main and 75th Streets at the southern-most edge, as well as numerous shopping malls and restaurants strung along Butterfield Road and Highland Avenue on the far north end.
