Back in 1834, Winslow Churchill probably could not have imagined that his prairie farm would one day be the site of a thriving village.

As a few people started moving in nearby, the area was known by a number of different names. Then in 1891 the villagers decided that if they re-named the place "Glen Ellyn," for the village's Lake Ellyn, it would sound more appealing to people moving out from the big city.

The tactic must have worked. Since then, the community has grown from just a few stores, Stacy’s Tavern (which still exists as a historical landmark) and a railroad depot, to a village of 27,000, according to the 2000 census.

The residents of Glen Ellyn are a well educated lot – almost 60 per cent of the populace has a bachelor’s or graduate degree. Glen Ellyn-ers are family-focused as well - two-thirds of the residents are married, more than 70 per cent live in a family relationship, and almost 40 per cent having children under 18.

Two of the four high schools in the Glenbard Township High School District 87, Glenbard South and Glenbard West, are in Glen Ellyn. Glenbard South had a 2007 ACT score of 24; Glenbard West's 2007 score was 23.

Glen Ellyn’s community college, College of DuPage, is consistently ranked as one of the top community colleges in the country, and the elementary and high schools in the village have strong and vital communities of their own. Two of the four high schools in the Glenbard Township High School District 87, Glenbard South and Glenbard West, are in Glen Ellyn. Glenbard South had a 2007 ACT score of 24; Glenbard West's 2007 score was 23.

The village does have some newly constructed homes, but a majority of housing in the neighborhood dates from the 1950s to the 1980s. More than three quarters of homes are priced above $200,000, and many homes range into the millions. Newer condo units and townhomes start in the low $200,000s but new downtown properties close to the train and central business district can go into seven-digits.

“Here’s what I love about Glen Ellyn," said Jenny fischer, a mother of three who has lived in Glen Ellyn for 26 years. "It has that really small-town feel where you know your neighbors, and I’ve always felt that this was the kind of place where if you needed to call someone in the middle of the night, I knew plenty of people that I could do that with.”

Village of Glen Ellyn
535 Duane St.
630-469-5000

Official Web site: http://glenellyn.org/
Additional Glen Ellyn Web site: http://www.glen-ellyn.com/

Natural gas: NICOR, 888-642-6748
Electricity: ComEd, 800-334-7661
Phone: AT&T, 888-824-8314
Cable: Wide Open West, 866-496-9669; Comcast, 866-594-1234

Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce
http://glenellynchamber.com/
630-469-0907

Population: 26,999
Median household income: $74,846
Median house price: $274,800

Hispanic origin (any race): 5%
• 91%
• 2%
• 5%
• 2%

• White
• Black
• Asian
• Other

• 6%
• 23%
• 49%
• 23%

• No diploma
• High school
• Bachelor's
• Master's & above

• 2%
• 9%
• 12%
• 14%
• 11%
• 5%
• 9%
• 2%
• 4%
• 10%
• 12%
• 3%
• 6%

• <5
• 5-9
• 10-14
• 15-19
• 20-24
• 25-29
• 30-34
• 35-39
• 40-44
• 45-59
• 60-89
• 90+
• Work@home