Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 70/100
B−
Median home value$412,300
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$2,037/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households26%
Chicago 33%
Buffalo Grove
Lake & Cook counties42,891 residents5 school districts
69
B−
Suburbgrade score
6th of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strong on schools and employment & income, held back by cost of living.
69
Chicago median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Buffalo Grove yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 69 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Buffalo Grove is like to live in, by category
Bars show Buffalo Grove against Chicago. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 87/100
A−
Within-state proficiency87th pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio14.2
Chicago median 13.7
Graduation rate—
Chicago median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 39/100
D−
Housing cost index131
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate2.56%
Chicago 1.83%
Local sales tax8.96%
Chicago median 8.96%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 68/100
B−
Mean commute26.3 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi3.7
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 72/100
B−
Restaurants & cafés43
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks88
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 77/100
B
Median household income$129,395
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment2.7%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations65%
Chicago 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Buffalo Grove yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Buffalo Grove on cost of living
Buffalo Grove's weakest grade is D−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Cicero25 mi from Buffalo GroveC+ 49 D+ Niles12 mi from Buffalo GroveC+ 62 C Addison16 mi from Buffalo GroveC 56 C− Elk Grove Village11 mi from Buffalo GroveC 62 C Des Plaines10 mi from Buffalo GroveC 66 C+ Waukegan15 mi from Buffalo GroveC 51 D+ Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Buffalo Grove
Is Buffalo Grove, IL a good place to live?
Buffalo Grove scores 69 out of 100, 6th of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Buffalo Grove expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades D−. The median home is $412,300, 28% above the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.56%. $2,037/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Buffalo Grove?
Schools grade A−. The districts serving Buffalo Grove sit at the 87th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 14.2 student–teacher ratio. Buffalo Grove is served by Adlai E Stevenson Hsd 125, Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102, Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96, Township Hsd 214 and Wheeling CCSD 21. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Buffalo Grove?
The mean commute is 26.3 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 32% working from home. Transit density is 3.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Buffalo Grove?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 43 restaurants and cafés and 88 parks, which grades B− on amenities.
Are the homes in Buffalo Grove old or new?
The median home in Buffalo Grove was built in 1981 — newer than the Chicago median of 1971. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 67% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.