Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Area Profile
42,891 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Buffalo Grove, in Lake County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesBuffalo Grove ranks in the top 23% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.8% and median household income of $129,395.
Public schools test above most of the state: 63% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 4% of published profiles for schools.
No residential units were authorized over the past twelve months, against a nonzero total the year before. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.8%, lower than in 69% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment fell 0.7% over the past year, to 22,995 employed residents.
69% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US cities.
Median household income of $129,395 is higher than in 92% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsLake County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $134,752 | 97th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftLake County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $119,981 | 93rd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$8,4792024 ACS 5-Year | $129,395 | Top 8%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,9202024 ACS 5-Year | $62,568 | Top 9%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.5% | Top 31%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.6 min | Bottom 40%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 68.6% | Top 4%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 58.1% | 11th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 22,995 | Bottom 27%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −0.5% | Bottom 46%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.7% | Top 48%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 23,913 | 27th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 86.1% | Top 20%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $73,380 | Top 36%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $54,720 | Top 39%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.8% | 92nd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.3% | Top 38%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.8% | Top 31%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 32.1% | 96th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 157,920 | $40,550 |
| General and Operations Managers | 122,930 | $109,390 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 108,520 | $38,180 |
| Registered Nurses | 100,240 | $100,490 |
| Cashiers | 99,240 | $35,010 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 97,280 | $34,630 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 60% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 14.3 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Grove High School | Township HSD 214 | 2,021 | 17.0 | 62% | 50% |
| Aptakisic Junior High School | Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102 | 940 | 14.2 | 67% | 75% |
| Cooper Middle School | Wheeling CCSD 21 | 732 | 13.1 | 42% | 43% |
| Meridian School | Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102 | 702 | 14.3 | 66% | 67% |
| Twin Groves Middle School | Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 | 625 | 14.9 | 73% | 85% |
| Joyce Kilmer Elem School | Wheeling CCSD 21 | 590 | 13.7 | 30% | 26% |
| Henry W Longfellow Elem School | Wheeling CCSD 21 | 510 | 14.6 | 69% | 58% |
| Tripp School | Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102 | 485 | 12.8 | 77% | 62% |
| Ivy Hall Elementary School | Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 | 482 | 11.8 | 73% | 69% |
| Prairie Elementary School | Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 | 453 | 15.1 | 80% | 75% |
| Earl Pritchett School | Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102 | 430 | 11.9 | 77% | 72% |
| Willow Grove Early Learning Ctr | Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 | 360 | 13.3 | — | — |
52.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Illinois’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 102.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,190, some 8% above the $2,037 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,190 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $87,600 a year, about 68% of the median household income here of $129,395.
The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,037 a month.
A median home at $412,300 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $141,438, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Buffalo Grove’s median household income of $129,395, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2023 | 102.5 | Bottom 47%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 2.9 | Bottom 37%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 79.8% | 58th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±4952024 ACS 5-Year | 16,593 | 97th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,940 | Bottom 21%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,820 | Bottom 25%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $2,190 | Bottom 26%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1482024 ACS 5-Year | $2,037 | Bottom 7%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$11,7952024 ACS 5-Year | $412,300 | 83rd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes2024 ACS 5-Year | $10,000+ | — | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$7,2762024 ACS 5-Year | $141,438 | Top 8%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 24.7% | Top 32%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±242024 ACS 5-Year | 15 | 68th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.1% | 52nd percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.2% | 22nd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±1832024 ACS 5-Year | 380 | 87th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 43,072 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward in 2025, after moving the other way the year before.
Federal tax returns show Lake County, which contains Buffalo Grove, lost about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $134,752, above the $119,981 of households that moved out.
At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Cook County, IL 11,713 people · 45% of arrivals
- McHenry County, IL 1,531 people · 5.9% of arrivals
- Kenosha County, WI 872 people · 3.3% of arrivals
- DuPage County, IL 848 people · 3.2% of arrivals
- Kane County, IL 373 people · 1.4% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Cook County, IL 7,323 people · 25% of departures
- McHenry County, IL 2,134 people · 7.3% of departures
- Kenosha County, WI 1,572 people · 5.4% of departures
- DuPage County, IL 616 people · 2.1% of departures
- Maricopa County, AZ 518 people · 1.8% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Lake County, IL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 18°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 32.3 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and about 7 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 67 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 32.3" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 18°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 84°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 7 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 40 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 50°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 55% of it. Cold wave and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 73% of measured US cities.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, tornado, strong wind, lightning, hail, earthquake, winter weather, ice storm, landslide, wildfire, drought, coastal flooding, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Buffalo Grove's police department reported 28 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 430.
Lake County records 2.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 9.6 per 100,000 residents in Lake County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Buffalo Grove’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Buffalo Grove (Lake County) rather than Buffalo Grove itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Chicago O'Hare Intl at 13 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 95.1% | Top 24%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 13 mi | Top 37%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 4 | Bottom 38%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.4% | Top 27%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago O'Hare Intl | ORD | 13 mi | 11,245 ft |
| Gary/Chicago Intl | GYY | 47 mi | 8,859 ft |
| South Bend Intl | SBN | 90 mi | 8,412 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Other cities in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Cook County | 2,711,226 | 52 | Chicago vs Buffalo Grove |
| Aurora | Kane County | 179,898 | 64 | Aurora vs Buffalo Grove |
| Naperville | DuPage County | 150,692 | 70 | Naperville vs Buffalo Grove |
| Joliet | Will County | 150,445 | 55 | |
| Elgin | Kane County | 114,934 | 57 | |
| Waukegan | Lake County | 89,076 | 59 | |
| Cicero | Cook County | 82,797 | 47 | |
| Schaumburg | Cook County | 76,868 | 62 | |
| Hammond | Lake County | 76,768 | 56 | |
| Evanston | Cook County | 76,340 | 64 | |
| Arlington Heights | Cook County | 76,005 | 65 | |
| Bolingbrook | Will County | 74,096 | 60 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Buffalo Grove side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Buffalo Grove from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
ZIP codes in Buffalo Grove
1 ZIP areaEvery ZIP area in Buffalo Grove with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Buffalo Grove closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60089 | 42,872 | $129,401 | $412,200 | — |