Lake Forest Among The Most Expensive Places In IL To Buy A Home: Ranking

LAKE FOREST, IL — Lake Forest was among the top 10 most expensive places to buy a home in Illinois, according to a new ranking compiled by household finance experts at Vettory using Zillow Home Value Index data.

In Lake Forest, the city's typical home was valued at $1,246,312, placing it at seventh on the list.

The ranking covered 1,030 Illinois communities with published figures and placed all 10 of the state's most expensive places in the Chicago area. The statewide typical home value was $298,871, meaning Lake Forest's typical home was worth more than four times that figure.

“Every town in this top ten rose at least 7% in a year, and six of them rose by double digits. The North Shore is not cooling with the rest of the country. It is accelerating,” a spokesperson for Vettory said.

Kenilworth and Glencoe posted the fastest annual increase in the top 10, each rising 13.1% year over year. Winnetka followed with a 12.2% increase. The top three communities also share Lake Michigan shoreline, with Kenilworth, Winnetka and Glencoe occupying consecutive stretches along the North Shore.

The top 10 most expensive places to buy a home in Illinois were:

• Kenilworth: $2,153,664, up 13.1% year on year

• Winnetka: $1,929,615, up 12.2% year on year.
• Glencoe: $1,682,167, up 13.1% year on year.

• Golf: $1,331,595, up 11.2% year on year.
• Hinsdale: $1,300,435, up 8.8% year on year.

• Bannockburn: $1,295,722, up 10.1% year on year.
• Lake Forest: $1,246,312, up 9.4% year on year.

• South Barrington: $1,168,609, up 7.0% year on year.
• Barrington Hills: $1,087,033, up 8.8% year on year.

• Wilmette: $1,020,010, up 11.7% year on year.

At the other end of the ranking, Cairo had the lowest typical home value in Illinois in June 2026 at $23,613. According to the ranking, the price of one typical Kenilworth home would buy 91 homes in Cairo.

The ranking used the Zillow Home Value Index, which measures the typical value of homes in the middle band of the market rather than an average asking or sale price. The source material noted that figures for small communities can shift sharply when fewer homes are recorded, and recent months remain subject to revision. The Zillow city-level data for June 2026 was released July 16, 2026, and checked Aug. 13, 2026.