Evanston

Evanston is the first suburb north of Chicago and the one that feels most like a continuation of the city, with a walkable downtown on Davis and Church streets, Northwestern University’s campus on the lake, and a mix of Victorian houses, courtyard apartments and lakefront mansions. It has its own beaches, its own two-line L service, and a population that is more diverse and more liberal than most of the North Shore. The city has been dry, then wet, then a restaurant town, and the Ryan Field rebuild that opened in 2026 is the current big change on the north end.

Where it is

On the map, Evanston runs from Howard Street, the Chicago line, north to Isabella Street and the Wilmette line, and from the lake west to the Skokie line at McCormick Boulevard. The Purple Line has stops at South Boulevard, Main, Dempster, Davis, Foster, Noyes and Central, with express service to the Loop at rush hour; the Yellow Line ends at Howard. Metra’s Union Pacific North line stops at Main Street, Davis Street and Central Street, about 25 minutes to Ogilvie. Sheridan Road, Ridge Avenue and Chicago Avenue are the main north-south streets, and the Edens Expressway is a ten-minute drive west.

What to know if you’re moving here

Evanston has a bit of everything, from $300,000 condos near Howard to lakefront estates north of campus.

• Housing is Victorians, courtyard apartments, condos and lakefront homes built from the 1870s on, with typical prices of roughly $300,000 to $2 million and up as a broad editorial estimate as of September 2026.
• Street parking is metered downtown and permit-restricted near campus; most houses have garages and the city runs three downtown garages.
• Public schools are Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and Evanston Township High School District 202, one of the largest high schools in the state.
• Property taxes are high, as across Cook County suburbs, and the city has its own real estate transfer tax on higher-priced sales.
• Both the Purple Line and Metra serve downtown Evanston, and the Purple Line express makes the Loop a 35-minute ride at rush hour.
• The drawback is cost, and a downtown parking situation that gets worse on Northwestern game and event days.

What to do if you’re visiting

Downtown Evanston around the Davis stop is walkable, and Central Street is the second strip a mile north.

• Locals will tell you Hewn on Central Street bakes the naturally leavened bread that made the bakery’s name, and Backlot Coffee down the block roasts its own beans.
• Ask around and you hear that Sketchbook Brewing Co. on Chicago Avenue is the community-supported brewery’s taproom near the Main Street stop.
• Northwestern’s lakefill and the Block Museum of Art are free to walk and visit at the east end of campus.
• Lighthouse Beach and the Grosse Point Lighthouse at Central and Sheridan are open for tours in summer.
• The Downtown Evanston Holiday Light Celebration lights the tree at Fountain Square on the first Saturday in December.
• Ryan Field on Central Street reopened in October 2026 for Northwestern football, with a food hall built into the concourse.