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.

69out of 100
Area Score
Top 17% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 23% of 4,199 cities measured71
SchoolsTop 4% of 4,162 cities measured89
Growth4,119th of 4,224 cities measured14
Housing affordabilityTop 6% of 4,218 cities measured85
Climate3,312th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 27% of 4,226 cities measured78
AccessTop 34% of 4,226 cities measured96
Economic stabilityTop 13% of 4,226 cities measured75
The quick read

Buffalo 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

Population
42,891
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$129,395
Top 8% nationally
Density
4,483/sq mi
9.6 sq mi of land
Median age
42.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Illinois
Nearest major airport
ORD
13 mi · Chicago O'Hare Intl
Median home value
$412,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLake County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$134,75297th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLake County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$119,98193rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,4792024 ACS 5-Year$129,395Top 8%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,9202024 ACS 5-Year$62,568Top 9%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%Top 31%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.6 minBottom 40%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year68.6%Top 4%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year58.1%11th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202622,995Bottom 27%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.5%Bottom 46%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Top 48%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202623,91327th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.1%Top 20%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$73,380Top 36%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,720Top 39%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year2.8%92nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.8%Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year32.1%96th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.93.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024130k121k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $129,395 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand157,920$40,550
General and Operations Managers122,930$109,390
Home Health and Personal Care Aides108,520$38,180
Registered Nurses100,240$100,490
Cashiers99,240$35,010
Fast Food and Counter Workers97,280$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.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
63.5%
Top 4% in Illinois
Reading proficiency
59.8%
Top 8% in Illinois
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Buffalo Grove High SchoolTownship HSD 2142,02117.062%50%
Aptakisic Junior High SchoolAptakisic-Tripp CCSD 10294014.267%75%
Cooper Middle SchoolWheeling CCSD 2173213.142%43%
Meridian SchoolAptakisic-Tripp CCSD 10270214.366%67%
Twin Groves Middle SchoolKildeer Countryside CCSD 9662514.973%85%
Joyce Kilmer Elem SchoolWheeling CCSD 2159013.730%26%
Henry W Longfellow Elem SchoolWheeling CCSD 2151014.669%58%
Tripp SchoolAptakisic-Tripp CCSD 10248512.877%62%
Ivy Hall Elementary SchoolKildeer Countryside CCSD 9648211.873%69%
Prairie Elementary SchoolKildeer Countryside CCSD 9645315.180%75%
Earl Pritchett SchoolAptakisic-Tripp CCSD 10243011.977%72%
Willow Grove Early Learning CtrKildeer Countryside CCSD 9636013.3——

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.

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.

Cost of living
102.5

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.

Rent as a share of income
24.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,190
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,037
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$412,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2023102.5Bottom 47%of 3,7002023
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 37%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.8%58th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4952024 ACS 5-Year16,59397th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,940Bottom 21%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,820Bottom 25%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,190Bottom 26%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1482024 ACS 5-Year$2,037Bottom 7%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,7952024 ACS 5-Year$412,30083rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes2024 ACS 5-Year$10,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,2762024 ACS 5-Year$141,438Top 8%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year24.7%Top 32%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±242024 ACS 5-Year1568th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%22nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1832024 ACS 5-Year38087th percentileof 32,3302024 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.

Development Momentum

14/ 100
Ranks 4,119 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
−100%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
45.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202443k43k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
41%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$134,752
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$119,981
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Cook County, IL 11,713 people · 45% of arrivals
  2. McHenry County, IL 1,531 people · 5.9% of arrivals
  3. Kenosha County, WI 872 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  4. DuPage County, IL 848 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  5. Kane County, IL 373 people · 1.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Cook County, IL 7,323 people · 25% of departures
  2. McHenry County, IL 2,134 people · 7.3% of departures
  3. Kenosha County, WI 1,572 people · 5.4% of departures
  4. DuPage County, IL 616 people · 2.1% of departures
  5. 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

202020212022202320242025720.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−97%).

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.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CHICAGO PALWAUKEE AP, 4.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year672024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals32.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year72024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year402024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals50°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
67
90th percentile index
Days above 100
7
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

78 / 100
Physical resilience

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.

Inland floodingModerate
Heat waveModerate

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.

Violent crime
28
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
430
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

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.

Homicide
2.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
7.2
per 100,000 residents

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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year95.1%Top 24%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle13 miTop 37%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.4%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD13 mi11,245 ft
Gary/Chicago IntlGYY47 mi8,859 ft
South Bend IntlSBN90 mi8,412 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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Area Score
69
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—

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Other cities in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ChicagoCook County2,711,22652Chicago vs Buffalo Grove
AuroraKane County179,89864Aurora vs Buffalo Grove
NapervilleDuPage County150,69270Naperville vs Buffalo Grove
JolietWill County150,44555
ElginKane County114,93457
WaukeganLake County89,07659
CiceroCook County82,79747
SchaumburgCook County76,86862
HammondLake County76,76856
EvanstonCook County76,34064
Arlington HeightsCook County76,00565
BolingbrookWill County74,09660

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.

Compare

Put Buffalo Grove side by side with a similar place.

Buffalo Grove vs Vernon HillsBuffalo Grove vs Ballwin

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 forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.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
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
Current conditionsNOAA 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 area

Every 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.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6008942,872$129,401$412,200—