Vernon Hills, IL

Vernon Hills began with 125 houses and a motel lobby that doubled as village hall and police headquarters. The subdivision incorporated on July 16, 1958, and much early municipal business occurred in the village clerk's home before trustees bought two portable buildings in 1971. That deliberately built suburban origin remains visible in a community of residential subdivisions, large recreation sites, and shopping districts rather than an inherited downtown. The 2020 census counted 26,850 residents, and the July 2025 estimate was 26,825. Census estimates for 2020 through 2024 also show a notably international population: 33.6 percent of residents were born outside the United States, and 41.7 percent of people age five or older spoke a language other than English at home. Century Park, Aspen Drive Library, and Hawthorn Mall pull daily activity toward different parts of the village. Century Park wraps 113 acres of land and water around Big and Little Bear Lakes.

ATTRStephen Longo / Public domain

Its 2.7 miles of walking and cycling paths connect fishing, a boat launch, playgrounds, ballfields, basketball and volleyball courts, a cricket pitch, exercise stations, picnic areas, winter skating, sledding, and cross-country skiing. Aspen Drive Library supplies the indoor counterpart with computers and Wi-Fi, rooms, digital studios, 3D printing, technology classes, a Library of Things, a seed library, museum passes, bookmobile service, home delivery, and electric-vehicle charging. Meanwhile, Hawthorn Mall is in an active conversion from a conventional shopping complex into a mixed-use district. Village actions in 2025 approved a second phase with ground-floor retail and apartments, and a March 2026 ordinance approved townhomes on the mall property. The result is a suburb whose original retail center is gaining housing while the park and library continue to function as established public gathering places.