Your Guide to Buying a Home in Northbrook, IL

Buying a Home in Northbrook, Illinois

Northbrook is located in Cook County

The Village of Northbrook is located 25 miles north of downtown Chicago at the northern border of Cook County. Situated east of the Tri-State Tollway (294), west and south of Interstate 94 (Edens Expressway) and on the Metra Commuter Line 40 minutes from Chicago, Northbrook has a premier transportation location. The Village features high value residential and complementary commercial and retail development.

Northbrook combines a strong diversification of employment in industry, commercial/retail and office development with its residential, educational, recreational and cultural amenities. The result is a thriving local economy and first class services for both businesses and residents. With broad based sources of Village revenue, Northbrook has relatively low municipal tax rates but is able to provide a high level of government services.

Among the Fortune 500 companies who call Northbrook home are Allstate, Culligan Water Technologies, Crate & Barrel and Underwriters Laboratories.  More than 700 manufacturing, light industrial and service-related businesses are clustered in Northbrook’s Sky Harbor Industrial Park.  In addition, The Village has a strong retail community that is anchored by Northbrook Court, the North Shore’s premier shopping center.

Convenient transportation is one of Northbrook’s most notable attributes.  The community has immediate access to the tri-state tollway (I-294) and the Edens expressway (I-94), and is served by the Metra commuter rail.  O’Hare International Airport is 17 miles southwest of the Village.

From kindergarten through high school, Northbrook boasts one of the finest education systems in the state.  Students consistently score above average on standardized tests including the Prairie State Achievement Examination, ACT and SAT.  A wide array of academic and co-curricular programs provide a well-rounded environment.

Northbrook real estate, on the cusp of full maturity, is coping with last spurt of residential building, while keeping close tabs on an impending boom over its border. Having cut its suburban teeth as a place where young couples could come to start their families, Northbrook has grown up into a place to move after achieving some financial success.

Demand and real estate prices are so strong because Northbrook has the best of all worlds; developers and village officials agreed. Growing steadily through the last three decades, Northbrook real estate offers residents a central location near O'Hare Airport, as well as schools and parks with national reputations. And with a tax base that is split 50-50 between residential and commercial, property tax rates are relatively low.