One Of Chicago's Most Affordable Suburbs Is A Town On Route 66 Packed With Americana Charm And Shopping

The historic city of Joliet, Illinois is the perfect destination for road trippers itching to get their kicks on Route 66. Nestled beside the majestic Des Plaines River, Joliet is situated along the first 100 miles of America's most famous highway, just under an hour's drive from Chicago. This tree-lined Chicago suburb is nicknamed the "City of Stone and Steel" owing to its storied limestone quarries and industrial history producing iron and steel. Upon completion of the 96-mile long Illinois and Michigan Canal in the mid-1800s, Joliet's riverside location transformed it into a thriving lifeline for trade and commerce linking Chicago to the Mississippi River. Today, Joliet stands out for its small town Americana charm, rich history, and super affordable living. 

According to the financial website The Motley Fool, Joliet ranks No. 7 on its 2025 list of the 10 most affordable cities in the U.S., which is heavily dominated by low-cost-of-living cities in Texas. Joliet is a top, budget-friendly option for living in America's beautiful and historic heartland. The median household income in Joliet is $86,054, 5% more than the national median, and the estimated cost of living is at $68,881. Add to this Forbes' finding that the median cost of a home in Joliet is 43% less than the national average, and it's clear that Joliet offers its residents some pretty incredible bang for their buck.

Dive headfirst into Americana at the Joliet Area Historical Museum. The museum's Route 66 Welcome Center will get you up to speed on everything to know about Joliet's privileged place along the Heritage Corridor, which is composed of noteworthy stops along Route 66 between Chicago and Santa Monica, California. Exhibits teach you about the founding of Joliet in the late 1600s by the French explorer Louis Joliet, the town's namesake, and recount the glory days of the Joliet Iron and Steel Works, which furnished the entire country with iron and steel during its 20th-century peak.

Modern conservation initiatives have transformed several historical buildings into unmissable tourist stops. The restored Old Joliet Prison, built by its own prisoners in the mid-1800s with limestone from the town's quarries, is a popular shooting location for films and TV shows, including "Prison Break" and "Empire." Those statues of the Blues Brothers dancing atop Joliet's famous Rich and Creamy ice cream shop are a nod to the 1980 "Blues Brothers" movie, which also features the Old Joliet Prison. The prison offers several intriguing tours, too. Like Philadelphia's abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary, the prison also offers spooky October tours where brave souls wander through the prison at night guided solely by flashlights.

The opulent Rialto Square Theatre is lauded as the Jewel of Joliet for being the cultural and architectural heart of the city. Built in 1926 to serve as a vaudeville theater, the Rialto's architecture incorporates a stunning mix of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine styles and was heavily influenced by some of the most renowned edifices in Europe, like the Hall of Mirrors inside the Palace of Versailles and Paris' Arc de Triomphe. Today, the Rialto regularly hosts some of Joliet's best live shows and events. Visitors can book tours here, sometimes accompanied by a buffet lunch or a pipe organ performance.

Joliet doesn't quite boast the chic shopping you'll find in downtown Chicago, but there you can find some eclectic mom-and-pop shops. Cool stores play up the town's history, like clothing store Prison City Vintage, or throw it back to earlier times, like Audophil's Records, where you can dig through stacks of vinyl. If you want to take a contemporary piece of Joliet home, visit The Strange & Unusual Gallery, which promotes pieces by local artists. Craving commercial goodies? Get your fix at the Louis Joliet Mall, a sprawling single-story shopping center featuring more than 120 stores.

Lovers of the great outdoors can meander Joliet's numerous trails, which wander through pretty, historic preserves. The I&M Canal Trail, a nearly 8-mile forest walk starting from the Joliet Iron Works Historic Site, as well as the 4.3-mile Jolie Junction Trail, are both paved with Joliet's limestone and make for splendid nature walks back through time. The same is true of the Historic Walk along Bluff Street, Joliet's first street, located inside Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park. Colorful murals and bronze plaques commemorate some of Joliet's earliest and most important sites and buildings, including early stagecoach routes, the Old Sac Indian trail, and Joliet's first home, which was built in the early 1830s. And because it doesn't get more Americana than catching a baseball game in America's heartland, be sure to grab tickets to see the Joliet Slammers, the town's Frontier League pro team.

There are several options to get to Joliet from Chicago, including by car, train, bus, and taxi. The fastest driving route to Joliet from Chicago is just under an hour via Interstates 57 and 80. The more scenic and historic route, of course, is to cruise Route 66.