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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Lake Forest, IL
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Lake Forest profile


Living in Lake Forest



Lake Forest is a medium-sized city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 19,252 people and six constituent neighborhoods, Lake Forest is the 128th largest community in Illinois.

Lake Forest home prices are not only among the most expensive in Illinois, but Lake Forest real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Lake Forest has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Lake Forest telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 23.55% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Because of many things, Lake Forest is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Lake Forest a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The city’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Lake Forest has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Lake Forest’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

One downside of living in Lake Forest is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Lake Forest, the average commute to work is 31.43 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.

Despite being a small city, Lake Forest has a lot of people using the train to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on the train are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Lake Forest. 80.98% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Lake Forest in 2018 was $99,558, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $398,232 for a family of four.

Lake Forest is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Lake Forest home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Lake Forest residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Lake Forest include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Lake Forest is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.