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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 associated 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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 25.62% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.

Lake Forest is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The city’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the 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 31.44 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 like to read, write and learn? If you move to Lake Forest, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Lake Forest is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 80.31% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Lake Forest in 2022 was $104,341, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $417,364 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 Langs. of India.