The village of Worth, Illinois is a suburb of Chicago, located on Chicago’s southwest side. The motto of the village is, “The Friendly Village. It’s Worth a Trip.” Worth has an area of 2.383 square miles. The zip code is 60482.
Ten thousand years ago, Worth was one of Lake Michigan's ancient beaches, rising 40 feet over what is now Lake Michigan.
In 1835, John Blackstone purchased the land in one of the first recorded land sales. A year later, it was sold to Dwitt Lane and was known as Lane's Island. In 1850, the areas outside the City of Chicago were designated with township names. Worth Township was named after General William Jenkins Worth (March 1, 1794 - May 7, 1849) who served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican American War.
Currently, the median income for a household in the village is $42,723, and the median income for a family is $51,523. Males have a median income of $38,007, compared to $28,492 for females. About 7% of families and 9.3% of the population live below the poverty line. These statistics are from the 2010 U.S. census.
According to the census, 10,789 people live in Worth. The racial makeup of the village was 92% White, less than 2% African American and 6% Hispanic. Native Americans and Asians made up less than 1% of the town’s population. Most of the residents of Worth were of Polish, German, Irish, or Italian descent.
There were 4,304 households identified in the 2010 census. Among those households, 29% had children under the age of 18. A total of 46.4% were married couples while 12% included a female head of the household with no husband. 30.8% of all households were made up of single people. 10.6% of the singles were 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48; the average family size was 3.15.
The Village of Worth has a mayor and six trustees (also known as councilmen or aldermen). All positions are elected at large.
Worth is served by several public-school districts. Worth School District 127 operates the public elementary and middle schools. The two high schools are Alan B. Shepard High School (named after the first American to travel in space) and Amos Alonzo Stagg High School (named after the American athlete and college coach). The two high schools operate as separate school districts.
Moraine Valley Community College is located in nearby Palos Hills; approximately 11,000 students are enrolled in the college. In-state tuition there is about $9,000 per academic year.
Worth Public Library District operates the public libraries. The public library, separate from the town government, has a board of trustees, which meets regularly.
Metra’s Southwest service line has a stop in Worth. The station is 17.8 miles south of Union Station, which is the northern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Worth is in zone D.
Worth is located near the towns of Chicago Ridge, Oak Lawn, Palos Heights, Alsip and Palos Hills.
The median home value in Worth is $191,408. Worth home values have gone up 1.8% from 2019-2020 and will fall by 2.8% within the next year, according to Zillow.
The violent crime rate in Worth is 2.46 of 1,000 residents, making the city safer than other areas of Illinois, which has an average crime rating of 4.04. Chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime in Worth are 1 in 406, compared to 1 in 247 in other parts of Illinois.