Des Plaines, IL: how dark is the sky here?

Des Plaines's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 55.2% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

This comes from a satellite measuring light radiating upward, not a person's eyes on the ground, so it isn't the same as a Bortle class, though the two track each other closely.

How far Des Plaines is from a meaningfully darker sky

Prospect Heights, IL, about 5 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Des Plaines. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Prospect Heights, IL is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Des Plaines compares nationally

Des Plaines, IL has a population of about 58,832, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Des Plaines places 1,761 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.