Burnside · Cook County · IL
Homes for sale in
Burnside.
- Active listings
- 6
- Median list
- $238K
- Avg time on market
- 10 days
- Sold · last year
- 16
Active listings
6 homes on the market
Be the first to know when a new Burnside home hits the market
Text + email the moment a new listing matches.
About the community
Living in Burnside.
Burnside is Chicago Community Area 47 on the Far South Side, located about 11 miles south of the Loop. It is the smallest of Chicago's 77 community areas, covering roughly 0.62 square miles, and locals call it The Triangle because it is bordered by railroad tracks on every side. The community area is named for the Illinois Central's Burnside station, which was itself named for Ambrose Burnside, a Union Civil War general who served as an official and treasurer of the Illinois Central Railroad. The 2020 census recorded a population of 2,527, making Burnside the least populous community area in the city. The housing stock leans toward modest single-family homes, many of which filled in the formerly undeveloped northern sections after World War II. Transit is anchored by the Metra Electric District, whose 91st Street, also known as the Chesterfield station, sits in the neighborhood and runs to Millennium Station downtown, about 11.4 miles north. As of November 2025 the median home sale price was about 250,000 dollars, well below the citywide figure, making Burnside one of the more attainable corners of the South Side.
At a glance
Population
The 2020 census recorded 2,527 residents, making Burnside the least populous of Chicago's 77 community areas.
Smallest area
At roughly 0.62 square miles, Burnside is geographically the smallest community area in Chicago.
Housing character
Modest single-family homes dominate, many built for the middle class after World War II in the formerly undeveloped northern sections.
Name origin
Named for the Illinois Central's Burnside station, in turn named for Civil War general Ambrose Burnside, who served as treasurer of the Illinois Central Railroad.
Transit
The Metra Electric District's 91st Street, or Chesterfield, station serves the neighborhood and sits about 11.4 miles from downtown Millennium Station.
Median home price
Redfin reported a median sale price of about 250,000 dollars in November 2025, down about 2 percent year over year.
Schools
Burnside Scholastic Academy, a PreK-8 Chicago public school, houses a Comprehensive Gifted Program.
Railroad history
Settlement began in the 1890s around Illinois Central repair shops, and the triangle is bounded entirely by rail lines that were raised in the 1920s.
What it’s actually like to live here
Present-day Burnside is overwhelmingly residential, a small, quiet enclave of modest single-family homes hemmed in on all sides by rail embankments. Its closed boundaries and small footprint mean most everyday shopping, dining, and services lie in adjacent community areas such as Chatham and Avalon Park rather than within the triangle itself. The neighborhood's main public green space is Burnside Park at 9400 South Greenwood Avenue, a 5.5-acre playlot with a playground, basketball courts, baseball fields, and a spray pool, programmed with seasonal events by the Chicago Park District.
Commuting is the strongest practical draw. The Metra Electric District's 91st Street, or Chesterfield, station offers a direct commuter rail ride to Millennium Station downtown, about 11.4 miles north, and CTA bus routes including the 4 and N5 connect the area as well. On the housing market, Redfin described Burnside as somewhat competitive, reporting a median sale price of about 250,000 dollars in November 2025, down about 2 percent year over year, with homes selling in roughly 80 days and on average going for about 2 percent above list price. Prospective buyers should also note that Redfin flags a moderate flood risk for the area.
Around town
What there is to do in Burnside.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Burnside (Ambrose) Park
A 5.5-acre neighborhood playlot with a playground, basketball courts, baseball fields, and a summer spray pool, the community's main green space.
- Transit
91st Street (Chesterfield) Metra Station
The neighborhood's Metra Electric stop, offering a direct commuter-rail ride to downtown Millennium Station.
- Education
Burnside Scholastic Academy
The local PreK-8 Chicago public school, which houses a Comprehensive Gifted Program for students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
- Transit
Metra Electric District Line
The commuter rail line serving Burnside, running along the historic Illinois Central main line between the Far South Side and downtown Chicago.
- Recreation
Rollin' Rec at Burnside
A seasonal Chicago Park District recreation program hosted at Burnside Park during the summer months.
- Recreation
Avalon Park
A larger park just north of Burnside in the adjacent Avalon Park community, offering green space and recreation a short distance away.
By the numbers
Burnside taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Median sold price
$215,000
MRED · last 12 mo (16 sales)
How Burnside got here
A bit of history.
The land that became Burnside was low, swampy ground near Lake Calumet, long seen as better suited to industry than housing. When the Illinois Central established its Burnside station, named for former company official and Civil War general Ambrose Burnside, the limited early development happened west of the tracks. Real settlement of the triangle came in the 1890s, when the Illinois Central began building a roundhouse and repair shops south of 95th Street, and a developer purchased and subdivided land within the triangle. By 1911 the triangle was home to a small population of recent immigrants, predominantly Hungarians, Italians, Ukrainians, and Poles, who took jobs in the Illinois Central Burnside shops, the New York Central Stony Island shops, the Pullman Car Works, Burnside Steel, and other nearby factories.
With about 400 homes and boardinghouses spread across the roughly thirty blocks of the triangle, residents built many of their own institutions, including Our Lady of Hungary Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Sts. Peter and Paul Church. The well-defined rail boundaries, reinforced when the tracks were raised in the 1920s, made Burnside a tight-knit community between the World Wars, though its small size brought it little political clout. Only after World War II did developers build new single-family homes in the vacant northern sections, gradually changing the area first by class and then, beginning in the 1960s, by race, as middle-class African American families moved in. Industrial decline and the eventual closing of the Pullman Company in 1981 reshaped the neighborhood, but by century's end Burnside had again become a comfortable residential community still defined by the railroads that created it.
The questions buyers actually ask
Burnside FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Burnside. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- What kinds of homes are in Burnside?
- Burnside is overwhelmingly a neighborhood of modest single-family homes. Much of the housing in the northern sections was built for the middle class after World War II on land that had previously been undeveloped. The area's older fabric grew from the small homes and boardinghouses built around the railroad shops starting in the 1890s. It remains a predominantly residential community defined by the rail lines that surround it.
- Can I commute downtown by Metra from Burnside?
- Yes. The Metra Electric District's 91st Street, or Chesterfield, station is located in the neighborhood at 91st Street and Dauphin Avenue. It sits on the main line, about 11.4 miles from the downtown terminus at Millennium Station. The station is in fare zone 2, has a 24-hour waiting room and ticket vending machines, and connects to CTA bus routes 4 and N5.
- What schools serve Burnside?
- The neighborhood is home to Burnside Scholastic Academy, a Chicago Public Schools PreK-8 school at 650 East 91st Place. The school houses a Comprehensive Gifted Program for students from kindergarten through eighth grade and offers a special education program at all grade levels. It is part of the Chicago Public Schools district, so confirm current attendance boundaries by address.
- Is Burnside affordable?
- Home prices in Burnside are well below the Chicago citywide median. Redfin reported a median sale price of about 250,000 dollars in November 2025, down about 2 percent from a year earlier. Redfin rated the market somewhat competitive, with homes selling in about 80 days and, on average, going for roughly 2 percent above list price. Prospective buyers should note that Redfin also flags a moderate flood risk in the area.
- How did Burnside get its name?
- The community area is named for the Illinois Central Railroad's Burnside station, established in 1862. That station was named for Ambrose Burnside, a Union general in the Civil War who served as an official and treasurer of the Illinois Central Railroad. His distinctive whiskers also gave rise to the word burnsides, later flipped into sideburns.
- How big is Burnside?
- Burnside is the geographically smallest of Chicago's 77 community areas, covering roughly 0.62 square miles. It is also the least populous, with 2,527 residents recorded in the 2020 census. Its compact size comes from its boundaries, since it is a triangle hemmed in entirely by railroad tracks, which is why locals call it The Triangle.
- What is the history of Burnside as a railroad community?
- Burnside grew up around the Illinois Central's rail operations. After the railroad built repair shops near 95th Street in the 1890s, a developer subdivided the triangle and immigrant railroad workers, mainly Hungarians, Italians, Ukrainians, and Poles, settled there. Residents worked in the Illinois Central Burnside shops, the New York Central Stony Island shops, the Pullman Car Works, and Burnside Steel. The surrounding rail lines, raised in the 1920s, gave the neighborhood its enduring triangular shape.
- Who is the real estate agent for Burnside?
- Joe Keegan is the local licensed Illinois real estate broker who covers Burnside in Burnside, IL through Subdiview, a neighborhood-first home search for the Chicago suburbs and collar counties. Joe prices and negotiates from the live MRED sold comps for Burnside specifically, not national averages, and can help you buy or sell here. Reach Joe at 224-385-8779 or joe@joekeeganhomes.com.
Nearby
Neighborhoods near Burnside.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the neighborhoods right next to Burnside.
Your local agent
Joe knows Burnside
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- Burnside 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