Moving to the Chicago suburbs

This guide is for people who work in Chicago, or at least go downtown a few days a week, and are trying to pick a suburb. It covers the four regions most movers weigh: the North Shore along Lake Michigan, DuPage County to the west, the Fox Valley river towns farther out, and the south suburbs, plus a look across the state line at Northwest Indiana.

It runs through train times, school data, property taxes by county and a few downtowns worth walking to on a Saturday. Drive times stay general on purpose: rush-hour traffic swings too much for one number, so test your own route at 7:30 a.m. before you sign anything.

Commute: Metra lines and drive times

The train line often matters more than the county. Times below come from Metra’s weekday inbound schedules and run from the fastest morning express to a typical train; off-peak trains are slower.

North Shore: Union Pacific North to Ogilvie

Davis Street in Evanston is about 30 minutes out and Wilmette 33 to 36. Winnetka is 37 minutes on an express and about 42 on most trains, Highland Park 46 to 56, and Lake Forest 56 to 66. Evanston and Wilmette also have the CTA Purple Line, which helps if you work somewhere other than the West Loop.

DuPage and the Fox Valley: UP West and BNSF

The Union Pacific West line runs to Ogilvie. Elmhurst is 27 to 40 minutes out, Glen Ellyn 37 to about 53, Wheaton 43 to about 59, and Geneva an hour at best, with most trains taking 65 to 76 minutes.

The BNSF runs to Union Station. La Grange Road is 24 minutes on an express and about 35 on most trains, Western Springs 29 to 38, Hinsdale 34 to 41, and Main Street in Downers Grove 30 at best. Naperville is 39 to 43 minutes on the expresses and closer to an hour on locals. Drivers from the west use the free Eisenhower (I-290) or the tolled I-88 and Tri-State (I-294).

South suburbs: Metra Electric and Rock Island

The Metra Electric runs to Millennium Station on Randolph Street. Homewood is 39 to 40 minutes on an express and about 47 on most trains, and Flossmoor is 42 to about 51. On the Rock Island to LaSalle Street, Tinley Park is 42 to 48 minutes and Joliet about an hour or more.

What the train costs and where you park

Fares go by zone. On Metra’s fare table, a monthly pass is $75 for Zones 1-2 (Evanston), $110 for Zones 1-3 (Winnetka, Hinsdale, La Grange, Elmhurst, Homewood) and $135 for Zones 1-4 (Highland Park, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, Geneva). Parking is separate: Metra says the town usually manages station lots, so fees and permit rules differ at every stop. Check the village’s commuter parking page before buying a house a mile from the station.

Schools and how to read the numbers

School numbers are easy to misread. Start with the state’s official Illinois Report Card, which covers every public school and district, not a real estate site.

Check which districts a house actually sits in

Many suburbs split schools into a K-8 district and a separate high school district, each with its own line on the tax bill; New Trier Township High School District 203 draws from several elementary districts. Naperville’s districts are unit districts running kindergarten through 12th grade. District lines do not follow village limits, so check the address, not the town name.

What the state ratings mean

Illinois gives every school one of five summative designations each year. Exemplary and Commendable are the top two. Targeted, Comprehensive and Intensive mean the state has flagged the school for extra support, often for one group of students rather than the whole building.

Be careful comparing years

The state changed its tests in 2025: the ACT became the high school exam, and new performance levels were set for the general English, math and science tests. A swing in proficiency between 2024 and 2025 may reflect the new test more than the school, so look at growth scores and graduation rates too. The 2025 Report Card is the most recent posted.

Property taxes by county

The county changes how your bill is figured and when it is due. Illinois taxes are paid in arrears, so a 2026 bill covers tax year 2025, and the rate stacks up every local body that levies on the property, schools included. Ask the seller for the last two bills.

Cook County

Cook covers Evanston, the North Shore up through Glencoe, the near west suburbs including La Grange and Western Springs, and the south suburbs including Homewood and Flossmoor. Cook assesses homes at 10 percent of market value, compared with the one-third level used elsewhere in the state, and reassesses one region at a time. The assessor’s 2026 calendar puts the south and west suburbs up for reassessment this year, after the north suburbs in 2025. The homeowner exemption cuts $10,000 from the equalized assessed value of an owner-occupied home; your savings equal that figure times your local tax rate.

DuPage County

DuPage covers Hinsdale, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Downers Grove and most of Naperville. Homes are assessed at the statutory one-third of market value, with a full general reassessment every four years; the most recent was 2023. The general homestead exemption is up to $8,000 in assessed value. The DuPage treasurer mails one bill with both payment coupons, and the 2026 due dates were June 1 and September 1.

Kane, Lake and Will

Geneva, St. Charles and Batavia are in Kane County, where the treasurer says payments made between September 2 and October 1, 2026 must include the late penalty. Highland Park and Lake Forest are in Lake County, and much of the southwest is in Will County; check each treasurer directly. In any county, two similar houses a mile apart can carry very different bills if the school district changes.

Downtowns that are worth living near

A walkable downtown near the station is worth paying for. These hold up, with a business or two in each that shows why.

Hinsdale, La Grange and Western Springs

The BNSF runs through all three, with stations close to the main shopping streets. In Hinsdale, Fuller’s Home & Hardware on First Street is the kind of place that makes a downtown livable. The shop has served the town for about 70 years and runs a handyman service for gutters, painting and snow removal. More is on the Hinsdale and Oak Brook page.

A few stops east, downtown La Grange is busier at night. Milk Money Brewing on La Grange Road is a brewpub with a kitchen and live music most weeks, and the bar takes reservations for groups of eight or more. In Western Springs, Kirschbaum’s Bakery on Burlington Avenue has been a family bakery since 1953; online orders are pickup only. The La Grange and Western Springs page covers both towns.

Glen Ellyn and Geneva

On the UP West line, downtown Glen Ellyn sits right around the station. The Glen Art Theatre on Crescent Boulevard is a movie house with reserved seats and beer and wine. See the Wheaton and Glen Ellyn page.

Geneva, farther out on the same line, has a shopping district along Third Street near the Fox River. Graham’s Fine Chocolates & Ice Cream at 302 S. Third St. is the after-dinner stop, and the shop’s phone is (630) 232-6655. The drawback is the commute, an hour or more each way. See the St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia page.

Winnetka

On the North Shore, The Book Stall at 811 Elm St. in Winnetka is an independent bookstore with a steady author-event calendar, including a talk on October 2, 2026. Phone: (847) 446-8880. The Winnetka and Glencoe page has more.

Homewood and Flossmoor

Homewood and Flossmoor both have walkable centers on the Metra Electric. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery on Sterling Avenue is a family-owned brewpub in a restored 1906 train station, open as a brewery since 1996. In Homewood, Bergstein’s NY Delicatessen on Martin Avenue is a New York-style deli for corned beef, pastrami and whitefish, and the deli is closed Sundays. See the Homewood and Flossmoor page.

Northwest Indiana as an option

Lake County, Indiana, draws Chicago commuters mostly on taxes. Indiana caps property taxes at 1 percent of gross assessed value for a homestead, according to the state Department of Local Government Finance, with 2 percent for other residential property. Indiana bills come due twice a year; the 2026 dates are May 11 and November 10.

The train is the South Shore Line to Millennium Station. Its new branch, the Monon Corridor (planned for years as the West Lake Corridor), opened on March 31, 2026, with stations at Hammond Gateway, South Hammond, Munster Ridge and Munster/Dyer, according to WVPE. A handful of weekday rush-hour trains run through to Chicago; off-peak and weekend trains are shuttles that connect to the main line at Hammond Gateway. Check the current timetable before you count on a one-seat ride.

Two catches. Indiana is not on the list of states with an income tax reciprocal agreement with Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue, so an Indiana resident with a Chicago paycheck still files in Illinois. And for schools, Indiana has its own reporting site, Indiana GPS, which does not line up with the Illinois ratings, so compare schools within each state.

Crown Point, the Lake County seat, has a courthouse square with a real downtown. Square Roots at 108 N. Main St. is a casual restaurant with comfort food and a full bar; phone (219) 310-8322. A few blocks away, Crown Brewing at 211 S. East St. has brewed in town since 2008, reviving the name of a local brewery that closed in 1916. Crown Point has no South Shore station, so a train commute starts with a drive to Munster or Hammond. The Munster and Crown Point page has more.

Good to know

• Cook County’s second-installment bill for tax year 2025 is due Thursday, October 1, 2026, per the Cook County treasurer.
• Indiana’s fall property tax installment is due November 10, 2026.
• Metra posted new fares and policies effective September 3, 2026. Prices above come from the fare table as posted.
• Train times come from the weekday schedules Metra posted in late September 2026; schedules change several times a year.
• Checked September 28, 2026.

Know a place that belongs in this guide, or a detail that has changed? Send a correction.