Elgin, IL: how dark is the sky here?

Elgin reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 64.8% 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.

The nearest darker sky to Elgin

6 miles from Elgin, straight-line, sits Carpentersville, IL, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Elgin's own suburban band.

Carpentersville, 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 Elgin compares nationally

About 114,701 people live in Elgin, IL, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Elgin places 2,067 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.