Best Chicago suburbs for schools

Ranked almost entirely on the Schools category — within-state proficiency, student–teacher ratio, graduation rate and schools nearby — with the two poll questions about children and teenagers at 20% once a place has enough responses.

Updated Sep 2026·60 suburbs considered, 10 listed

Northbrook$652k median · 26.8 min commute

Schools A+Cost of living DResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 74 B

main plaza, functionally a traffic island. Bronze sculptures and decorative programming call attention to its history as a former Naval Air Station terminal. Th

Glenview$610k median · 27.1 min commute

Schools A+Cost of living DResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 72 B−

Highland Park$607k median · 27.5 min commute

Schools ACost of living D−Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 71 B−

Naperville$540k median · 30.5 min commute

Schools ACost of living DResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 71 B−

Oak Park$466k median · 31.6 min commute

Schools ACost of living D−Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 67 C+

Photo of the Municipal Center (City Hall) and the Fox River in en:St. Charles, IL, taken from the north side of the Main St. (IL route 64) bridge. The St. Charl

St. Charles$377k median · 27.0 min commute

Schools ACost of living DResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 65 C+

Elmhurst$545k median · 29.1 min commute

Schools ACost of living D+Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 70 B−

Evanston$481k median · 27.5 min commute

Schools ACost of living C−Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 69 B−

Schaumburg$330k median · 27.8 min commute

Schools A−Cost of living C−Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 67 C+

Buffalo Grove$412k median · 26.3 min commute

Schools A−Cost of living D−Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 69 B−

This list's weighting

Schools 80%Resident poll (Q5, Q6) 20%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Chicago lists

Best Chicago suburbs for families Most affordable Chicago suburbs Shortest commutes to Downtown Chicago Most walkable Chicago suburbs Best Chicago suburbs for young professionals How we score Chicago suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Northbrook (CL Minecraft · CC BY-SA 4.0); Glenview (Payton Chung from DCA, USA · CC BY 2.0); Highland Park (Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0); Naperville (Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0); Oak Park (Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0); St. Charles (Keybdn · CC BY-SA 3.0); Elmhurst (Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0); Evanston (Madcoverboy (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0); Schaumburg (bogdanstepniak · CC BY 3.0); Buffalo Grove (YourJudge · CC BY-SA 4.0).