The Chicago–Naperville–Elgin metro has 9.4M residents (per 2024 ACS 5-year Estimates ), a 2024 median household income of $91K, median home value of $323K, median age of 39, and a 42% bachelor's-degree share among adults 25 and older. The analysis below clusters neighborhoods within the metro's urbanized areas, covering 7.9M of those 9.4M residents. Wealth and degrees concentrate on the North Shore and in the Hinsdale–Oak Brook western suburbs, while Gary, East Chicago, and the South Cook County edge sit at the bottom of value, income, and education together.
Median home value
The top of the distribution is the Lake Forest cluster at $914K — about 2.8x the metro figure — an architect-built North Shore enclave designed from its founding to limit access. A near-tie sits in the western suburbs at the "North of Hinsdale " cluster at $888K, anchored by one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois. "East of Glenview" follows at $880K and "South of Wilmette" at $691K, both along the same North Shore band, with a "North Chicago" cluster on the city's lakefront at $675K. The bottom is a tight pocket in northwest Indiana and the South Cook edge: "South of Gary " at $86K, Gary at $90K, and "East of East Chicago" at $106K, with "West of Harvey" at $126K and "North of Dolton" at $127K. The bulk of the metro outside these poles falls in the $200K–$400K band.
Median household income
Lake Forest again leads at $226K, with "North of Hinsdale" at $222K — both 2.4x the metro median — followed by "East of Glenview" at $194K, "East of Campton Hills" at $192K, and "West of Highland Park" at $182K. The bottom is concentrated in the same northwest Indiana / North Chicago band: East Chicago at $35K, Gary at $38K, a North Chicago cluster at $40K, "East of East Chicago" at $40K, and a South Chicago cluster at $44K. Most of the rest of the metro sits in the $60K–$120K range.
Median age
The oldest neighborhoods are "East of Oak Brook" at 56, Lake Forest at 51, and "South of Wauconda" at 50, with "South of Countryside" and "West of Northbrook" both at 48 — a pattern of older affluent western and northern suburbs. The youngest readings cluster around heavily Latino industrial corridors and exurban families: "East of Aurora" at 32, East Chicago at 32, two more East Chicago clusters at 33, "North Chicago" at 33, and "North of Dolton" at 33. The bulk of the metro lands in the 36–42 range, close to the 39 metro median.
Adults with a bachelor's degree
Degree share peaks on the city's north lakefront with three "North Chicago" clusters at 87%, 86%, and 82% — roughly 2x the metro's 42% — alongside "North of Hinsdale" at 81% and "East of Glenview" at 81%. The bottom sits in the same industrial belt and a Joliet-area pocket: "East of East Chicago" at 10%, "East of Joliet" at 10%, "North of Cicero" at 11%, East Chicago at 11%, and "South of Gary" at 11%.
Where the metrics overlap
Two distinct top patterns share the leaderboard. The Hinsdale–Glenview band combines high home value, high income, and high education together. The North Shore around Lake Forest does the same and also reads oldest. The city's north lakefront "North Chicago" clusters top bachelor's share and rank high on home value, but they are not where the highest household incomes land. At the bottom, Gary, East Chicago, and the South Cook edge from Harvey through Dolton form the metro's consistent low-end pole — bottom on home value, income, and degree share together, and also reading younger than the metro. The middle of the metro — Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Evanston, Oak Lawn, Orland Park — sits near the metro averages on most metrics.
Key Takeaways
- Lake Forest tops home value at $914K and income at $226K, and reads age 51.
- A North Chicago lakefront cluster tops bachelor's share at 87%, against a metro share of 42%.
- The Hinsdale–Oak Brook–Glenview western and North Shore bands combine high value, high income, and high education simultaneously.
- Gary, East Chicago, and the South Cook edge are the consistent low-end pole, with home values of $86K–$127K, incomes of $35K–$44K, and bachelor's shares of 10%–11%.
- "East of Oak Brook" is the oldest reading in the metro at 56; "East of Aurora" and East Chicago are the youngest at 32.