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Chicago's Northwest Suburbs

Area 847

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Cook and Lake · NCS

Buffalo Grove

A planned suburb split across two counties, with an NCS Metra station.

Buffalo Grove
Buffalo Grove on the Area 847 map — neighbors sit quieter. Municipal limits from U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files (2019, 1:500,000). Not a legal plat. All towns.
Welcome sign in Buffalo Grove
Welcome sign in Buffalo Grove. YourJudge, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source · License

Overview

Buffalo Grove straddles Cook and Lake counties — planned subdivisions, parks, and commercial strips along Milwaukee Avenue and Lake Cook Road. The 2020 Census counted 43,212 people; the July 1, 2025 estimate is 42,812. Two houses a few blocks apart can live under different assessment systems and different high-school maps. That is the first fact to learn, not the last.

Quick facts

Population (est.)
42,812 (Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2025, V2025)
2020 Census
43,212
County
Cook and Lake (confirm the PIN)
ZIPs
60089
Area codes
847 / 224
Median home value
$412,300 (ACS 2020–2024)
Median household income
$129,395 (ACS 2020–2024)
Mean commute
26.3 minutes (ACS 2020–2024)
Owner-occupied
79.8% (ACS 2020–2024)
Bachelor's or higher
68.6%
Poverty rate
7.2%

Housing, income, and commute figures are U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 estimates unless noted. Population is Census QuickFacts July 1, 2025 (V2025) unless noted.

Taxes

Cook uses a different residential assessment method than Lake County, so the county line is the tax story. BlockShopper’s FY 2024 Cook-side medians sat near 2 percent-plus effective in this band of the northwest suburbs. Lake County’s effective rates have run even higher in recent market write-ups (about 2.6 percent in a Q3 2024 BlockShopper piece). Look up the PIN on the correct county treasurer site before you bid.

Commute

Mean travel time is 26.3 minutes (ACS 2020–2024). Metra’s North Central Service stops at Buffalo Grove, 825 Commerce Court (station). NCS runs less often than UP-NW — read the current timetable before you commit to train-only. Drivers use Lake Cook Road, Milwaukee Avenue (IL-21), IL-83, and the I-94 / I-294 connectors.

Schools

Assignment depends on which side of the county line the address sits on. Cook-side homes often relate to Township High School District 214; Lake-side talk often involves Stevenson High School District 125. CCSD 21 serves parts of Buffalo Grove. Do not assume the neighbor’s high school is yours. ISBE has the report cards.

Housing

ACS 2020–2024 median owner-occupied value is $412,300, with 79.8 percent owner occupancy and a median household income of $129,395. A lot of the stock is planned-subdivision single-family, with parks woven through.

Why people move here

Parks, relatively newer housing than some inner-ring towns, and the Cook/Lake option set. Tax and school shopping get confusing fast; NCS frequency may not match a UP-NW habit; some subdivisions sit a long walk from anything you would call a downtown.

On the ground

Buffalo Grove Post Office
Buffalo Grove Post Office. YourJudge, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source · License

Village numbers

Call 911 for police, fire, or medical emergencies. The numbers below are the published civic lines.

Open Buffalo Grove in Home SOS · Malls, churches, and theaters · Other attractions · Facilities · Pickleball courts

Pickleball courts

Public / park-district sites only. Full directory: Pickleball courts.

Upcoming in Buffalo Grove

Dining and shops

Editorial roundup from OpenTable, TripAdvisor, and downtown association lists, September 2026.

  • Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

    Deep dish · 85 S. Buffalo Grove Road

    In the second-oldest building in Buffalo Grove, at Lake Cook and Buffalo Grove Road. OpenTable’s local pizza booking.

  • Continental Restaurant

    American

    TripAdvisor’s Buffalo Grove list still leads with Continental — a long-running American dining room.

  • Prairie House Tavern

    American / tavern

    Neighborhood tavern plates. A regular on the public Buffalo Grove restaurant list.

  • Sushi Grove

    Japanese

    Neighborhood sushi. TripAdvisor keeps it in the Buffalo Grove top ten.

  • Original Bagel & Bialy

    Bagels

    The bagel-and-bialy counter people actually line up for. Another TripAdvisor regular.

Sources