Buffalo Grove · Lake County · IL
Homes for sale in
Buffalo Grove.
- Active listings
- 35
- Median list
- $575K
- Avg time on market
- 7 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons (Unknown)
Active listings
35 homes on the market
About the community
Living in Buffalo Grove.
Buffalo Grove is a village of about 43,212 residents (2020 Census) sitting on a quirky county line, with the top three-quarters in Lake County's Vernon Township and the bottom quarter in Cook County's Wheeling Township, Lake Cook Road as the divider. Families are the through line: most K-8 students attend Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102 north of Lake Cook, Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96, or Wheeling CCSD 21 on the Cook County side, and high schoolers across the village feed Adlai E. Stevenson High School in District 125, which Niche has ranked the No. 1 district in the U.S. The Metra North Central Service stops at the Buffalo Grove station, about 32 miles from Chicago Union Station, and IL 83, Dundee Road, and Lake Cook Road carry commuters toward I-94 and O'Hare (about 16 miles, roughly a 22 to 35 minute drive). The character is mature suburban, with leafy subdivisions, a 51-park district system, and a new mixed-use development called The Clove rising on the old Town Center site. If you want quiet streets, deep school options, and a serious commute toolkit, Buffalo Grove earns the look.
At a glance
~43,212 residents
2020 Census population for the village. Mature suburban character with leafy subdivisions built out from the 1960s through the 2000s.
Adlai E. Stevenson HS (D125)
All Buffalo Grove high schoolers feed Stevenson HS in Lincolnshire, which Niche has ranked the No. 1 school district in the U.S. The district serves 16 communities across about 42 square miles.
Metra NCS at Buffalo Grove station
Buffalo Grove station on the North Central Service, about 32 miles to Chicago Union Station, roughly a one-hour ride. NCS runs weekdays only.
51-park district
Buffalo Grove Park District runs 51 parks plus the Community Arts Center, an indoor pool, and the flagship Mike Rylko Community Park.
Lake / Cook county split
Top three-quarters of the village is in Lake County (Vernon Twp), bottom quarter is Cook (Wheeling Twp). Lake Cook Road is the dividing line, and the split affects tax codes and K-8 school assignment.
Median home value ~$436,993
Zillow ZHVI for Buffalo Grove, up roughly 4.6% year over year.
Effective property tax ~3.0%
Ownwell reports an effective rate around 2.98% with a median annual bill near $11,525, well above the national median.
The Clove redevelopment
22-acre Kensington Development project rebuilding the former Town Center mall site at McHenry Road into a new mixed-use entertainment, retail, and residential district.
What’s close
Buffalo Grove sits about 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, layered north to south across the Lake / Cook county line, with Lake Cook Road as the dividing axis and IL 83 and Dundee Road as the main north-south and east-west arteries.
- Lake Cook Road corridor + The Clove
- Historic retail center and the site of the former Town Center mall, now being rebuilt as The Clove by Kensington Development Partners after the original mall came down in December 2022.
- Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire)
- Adlai E. Stevenson HS at 1 Stevenson Drive, Lincolnshire, the only D125 high school, serving portions of Buffalo Grove and 15 other communities.
- Metra Buffalo Grove station (NCS)
- NCS station with weekday service about 32 miles to Chicago Union Station, roughly a one-hour ride.
- Mike Rylko Community Park
- Park District flagship at 1000 N. Buffalo Grove Road with a fitness center, indoor pool, skate park, Spray N Play water park, indoor driving range, and the Adriane Johnson Amphitheater.
- Aptakisic-Tripp district office
- D102 headquarters at 1351 Abbott Court, anchoring the K-8 catchment north of Lake Cook Road.
- Buffalo Grove Days festival site
- Mike Rylko Park hosts the five-day Labor Day weekend festival running since 1961 with a parade, carnival rides, and live music.
What it’s actually like to live here
Buffalo Grove plays as a textbook family suburb. The Stevenson High School pull is real: D125's lone high school feeds from 16 communities and routinely sits at the top of national K-12 rankings, and many buyers map their search around the catchment. North-of-Lake-Cook subdivisions feed Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102, western pockets feed Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96, and the Cook County southern edge feeds Wheeling CCSD 21, with all three sending high schoolers to Stevenson in the heart of the district.
The neighborhoods themselves lean mature, with single-family subdivisions built out from the 1960s through the 2000s, big lots, mature trees, and quiet cul-de-sacs. The Buffalo Grove Park District ties it together with 51 parks, the flagship Mike Rylko Community Park (fitness center, indoor pool, skate park, Spray N Play, amphitheater), the 59.5-acre Willow Stream Park (outdoor pool, ball fields), and Big Deal Productions, the district's award-winning theater program housed at the Community Arts Center on McHenry Road. Labor Day weekend brings Buffalo Grove Days, a five-day festival running since 1961 with a parade, carnival, and live music at Rylko Park.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Buffalo Grove community pages coming soon.
Browse the listings above. Detailed neighborhood pages with market stats, school info, and lifestyle take-downs land here as we roll them out.
Schools
Districts serving Buffalo Grove.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D125Grades 9 to 12
Adlai E. Stevenson High School District 125
Schools serving the area
- Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Single comprehensive high school in Lincolnshire serving 16 communities across about 42 square miles, including portions of Buffalo Grove. Niche has ranked D125 the No. 1 district in the U.S.
- D102Grades K to 8
Aptakisic-Tripp Community Consolidated School District 102
Schools serving the area
- Aptakisic Junior High School
- Tripp Elementary
- Pritchett Elementary
- Meridian Middle School
K-8 district of about 2,590 students covering Buffalo Grove north of Lake Cook Road, plus parts of Lake County Wheeling, unincorporated Prairie View, Aptakisic, and parts of Deerfield.
- D96Grades K to 8
Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96
Schools serving the area
- Ivy Hall Elementary
- Prairie Elementary
- Kildeer Countryside Elementary
- Country Meadows Elementary
- Twin Groves Middle School
- Woodlawn Middle School
K-8 district of about 3,200 students covering parts of Buffalo Grove, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Lake Zurich, Long Grove, and Vernon Hills.
- D21Grades PK to 8
Wheeling Community Consolidated School District 21
Schools serving the area
- Tarkington School
- Whitman School
- Kilmer School
- Holmes Middle School
PK-8 district of 13 schools and 6,000+ students in northwest Cook County, covering the southern Buffalo Grove pockets plus Wheeling, Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, and Northbrook.
Around town
What there is to do in Buffalo Grove.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Mike Rylko Community Park
Park District flagship at 1000 N. Buffalo Grove Road with a fitness center, indoor pool, skate park, Spray N Play water park, indoor driving range, and the Adriane Johnson Amphitheater.
- Parks
Willow Stream Park
59.5-acre park with an outdoor pool, ball and soccer fields, and summer Movies in the Park.
- Culture
Buffalo Grove Community Arts Center
Park District performing arts venue at 225 McHenry Road, home to the award-winning Big Deal Productions main-stage theater program.
- Family
Buffalo Grove Days
Five-day Labor Day weekend festival at Mike Rylko Park with a parade, carnival rides, and live music, running since 1961.
- Food & Drink
Lou Malnati's Buffalo Grove
Deep-dish Chicago pizzeria at 85 S. Buffalo Grove Road, in the village since 1989.
- Shopping
The Clove (former Town Center)
22-acre Kensington Development redevelopment rebuilding the old Town Center mall site at McHenry Road into a new mixed-use entertainment, retail, and residential district.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Buffalo Grove.
MetraNCS line
- Stations: Buffalo Grove
- Terminal: Chicago Union Station
- Distance: 32 miles to downtown Chicago
DriveBy car
- Routes: Lake Cook Road · IL 83 / McHenry Road · Dundee Road (IL 68) · IL 22 · I-94 access via IL 83 to I-294
- O'Hare Airport: ~30 min
- Chicago Loop: ~50 min
By the numbers
Buffalo Grove taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
2.98%
effective avg
Sales tax
10.00%
combined
Median sold price
$423,450
MRED · last 12 mo (500 sales)
Median household income
$129,395
ACS
How Buffalo Grove got here
A bit of history.
The area now called Buffalo Grove was originally inhabited by the Potawatomi, and the name traces to the English translation of the Potawatomi name for Buffalo Creek, which still flows through parts of the village. Local lore holds that bison once grazed in the wooded creek bottoms between Wheeling and Long Grove, and a buffalo skeleton found near the water gave the creek (and later the grove) its name. The land stayed rural and agricultural well into the 20th century. After the Korean War, developers including Al Frank of Buffalo Grove Home Builders Inc. began assembling farmland for single-family subdivisions aimed at WWII and Korean War veterans, and Frank's recruiting effort powered the village's incorporation in 1958 with just 164 residents.
Once incorporated, Buffalo Grove grew fast, jumping from 1,833 residents in 1970 to 9,086 in 1980, 21,930 in 1990, and over 43,000 by 2020. The Lake Cook Road corridor became the village's commercial and civic spine, with the Buffalo Grove Commerce Center opening on 50 acres at Lake Cook Road and the Soo Line Railroad in 1981, and Lake Cook Road itself widening to a four-lane boulevard past the Municipal Complex and Buffalo Creek. Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102, formed in 1955 when the historic Aptakisic and Tripp one-room schools consolidated, anchored the family-suburb identity north of Lake Cook Road. The original Town Center mall at McHenry Road was demolished by December 2022 and is being redeveloped by Kensington Development Partners as The Clove, a mixed-use entertainment and residential district.
The questions buyers actually ask
Buffalo Grove FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Buffalo Grove. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- What's the deal with Stevenson High School?
- Adlai E. Stevenson HS in Lincolnshire is the only high school in District 125 and serves portions of Buffalo Grove along with 15 other communities. Niche has ranked the district No. 1 in the U.S., and for many Buffalo Grove buyers it's the headline reason to be here.
- Buffalo Grove is split between Lake and Cook counties. Does that matter?
- Yes. The top three-quarters of the village is in Lake County's Vernon Township and the bottom quarter is in Cook County's Wheeling Township, with Lake Cook Road as the dividing line. That affects property tax codes, the K-8 district your kids attend (D102 or D96 north, CCSD 21 south), and some sales tax rules. Always verify by address.
- How long is the commute to downtown Chicago?
- By Metra North Central Service from the Buffalo Grove station to Chicago Union Station is about 32 miles and roughly a one-hour ride, weekdays only. By car, downtown is about 33 miles, 35 to 55 minutes depending on traffic via I-94.
- How close is O'Hare?
- About 16 miles, roughly 22 to 35 minutes by car via IL 83 to I-294 to I-190.
- What about property taxes?
- Ownwell pegs the effective rate at roughly 2.98 percent with a median bill around $11,525, well above the national median. The Lake County portion alone has 12 different tax-code areas depending on the school overlay, so the exact bill varies block by block.
- What's happening with the old Town Center?
- The 22-acre former Town Center mall was demolished by December 2022 and is being redeveloped by Kensington Development Partners as The Clove, a new mixed-use entertainment, retail, and residential district at McHenry Road.
- Where should I look first for homes here?
- Buyers chasing Stevenson HS look across the whole village since the entire district feeds Stevenson, but the north-of-Lake-Cook subdivisions feeding Aptakisic-Tripp 102 and Kildeer Countryside 96 are popular for families wanting a Lake County package. Mature single-family neighborhoods near Mike Rylko Park and Willow Stream Park are the classic Buffalo Grove starter pool.
Nearby
Towns next to Buffalo Grove.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the places that border Buffalo Grove.
Your local agent
Joe knows Buffalo Grove
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the communities I actually know, and the details that determine resale value here aren't in the MLS write-up: which lots back to open space, which streets carry the most consistent demand, which floor plans buyers ask for by name, and what each HOA actually covers.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who's walked the streets, talked to the residents, and read the last 50 closed comps in this market specifically. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Lives in McHenry County
- Local specialist
- Buffalo Grove specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Thinking of selling?
What's your home actually worth?
Not a Zestimate. A real CMA from someone who's sold this neighborhood, knows the floor plan premiums, and can tell you which upgrades the buyer pool here actually pays for.
- Pricing range with comp-by-comp logic
- Pre-list improvements that pay back, and the ones that don't
- No obligation, no spam, no auto-dialer