Arlington Heights & Mount Prospect

Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect are the northwest suburbs with real downtowns around their Union Pacific Northwest Metra stations, and Arlington Heights’ is one of the densest in the suburbs, with condo towers, restaurants and the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre within a few blocks of the tracks. The Chicago Bears bought the former Arlington Park racetrack in 2023, and what happens on that 326-acre site is the biggest question in both towns. Mount Prospect, to the southeast, has its own downtown on Northwest Highway and Randhurst Village, the open-air shopping center that sold in September 2026. Both are family suburbs of ranches and split-levels with a growing condo stock near the trains.

Where it is

On the map, Arlington Heights runs from Rand Road south to Central Road and past, between Palatine and Mount Prospect, with the downtown at Arlington Heights Road and Northwest Highway; Mount Prospect is southeast of it, between Arlington Heights and Des Plaines, with Randhurst at Rand Road and Elmhurst Road. Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest line stops at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect, about 35 to 45 minutes to Ogilvie. Route 53, Northwest Highway (US 14) and Rand Road (US 12) are the main roads, and I-90 has exits at Arlington Heights Road and Route 53.

What to know if you’re moving here

The downtowns give these towns something most northwest suburbs lack, and the Bears decision hangs over the Arlington Park side.

• Housing is ranches, split-levels, Georgians and downtown condos built from the 1950s on, with typical prices of roughly $300,000 to $900,000 as a broad editorial estimate as of September 2026.
• Parking is driveways and garages, with village garages in downtown Arlington Heights and a permit system at the Metra lots.
• Public schools are Arlington Heights District 25 and Mount Prospect Districts 57 and 26, feeding Township High School District 214 (Prospect, Hersey, Rolling Meadows and John Hersey high schools).
• Cook County property taxes apply, and the Bears’ stadium negotiations include a property tax agreement that would affect the whole area.
• Three Metra stops make the commute one of the easiest in the northwest suburbs, with express trains to Ogilvie in 35 minutes.
• The drawback is uncertainty around the Arlington Park site, and Northwest Highway and Rand Road traffic.

What to do if you’re visiting

Downtown Arlington Heights is walkable from the Metra stop; Randhurst needs a car.

• Most first-time visitors learn that Randhurst Village in Mount Prospect is the open-air shopping center with Macy’s Randhurst Village, AMC Randhurst 12 and a strip of restaurants.
• Downtown Arlington Heights along Vail Avenue and Campbell Street has restaurants, the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre and a Saturday farmers market in season.
• Mount Prospect’s downtown on Northwest Highway and Prospect Avenue has a smaller restaurant strip and a summer block party.
• The Arlington Heights Memorial Library on Dunton Avenue is one of the busiest public libraries in the state.
• Lake Arlington on Windsor Drive has a two-mile walking loop, paddle boats and a beach.
• The Frontier Days festival in Arlington Heights over the Fourth of July is one of the largest suburban fests.