Hickory, NC vs Oak Park, IL

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Hickory

70.8

#1056 nationally

Oak Park

71.1

#1024 nationally

Oak Park leads in walk score (78 vs 28). Oak Park leads in median household income ($103,264 vs $58,251). Hickory leads in average commute (19.6 min vs 33.4 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Hickory, NC	Oak Park, IL
WhereAtHome Score	70.8 (#1056)	71.1 (#1024)
Population	44,415	52,055
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$298,293	$489,829
Median Household Income	$58,251	$103,264
Average Commute	19.6 min	33.4 min
Walk Score	28	78
Crime Level	11.2	8.9
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	98	127
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	R+38.0	D+42.0