Get to know Lake Forest, IL

Lake Forest is an affluent suburb in Chicago’s North Shore area.  The city was founding in 1861 around Lake Forest College and intentionally isolated from Chicago to offer the WASP elite moving to Lake Forest retreat a city they believed to be filled with immigrants and dangerous socialist ideas.  It has a rich history of land conservation and holds a Tree City USA title from the National Arbor Day Foundation.  The suburb is known for housing the training facility and headquarters of the Chicago Bears and hosting the team’s training camps.  Many of the upscale homes constructed in the 1960’s were build on large, secluded lots, creating a shortage of available land in the city.  This may account for the relatively little population growth since the early 1990’s, resulting in Lake Forest having one of the  lowest population densities in the Chicago area, with less than 1,150 residents per square mile.  A change in employment is the number one reason people move from Lake Forest.

Quick Facts

Population: 18,951

Median Household Income: $155,792

Median Property Value: $841,400