Edgewater · Cook County · IL
Homes for sale in
Edgewater.
- Active listings
- 17
- Median list
- $250K
- Avg time on market
- 49 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
About the community
Living in Edgewater.
Edgewater sits on Chicago's North Side lakefront, about six miles north of the Loop, tucked between Uptown to the south and Rogers Park to the north, with Lake Michigan forming its eastern edge. The neighborhood splits cleanly into two characters. To the east, along the Sheridan Road corridor, runs a dense wall of mid-century lakefront high-rises and condominium towers, many built between the late 1950s and early 1970s. To the west, the streetscape softens into single-family homes, greystones, and vintage two, three, and four-flat buildings, anchored by the Andersonville commercial district along Clark Street. Pockets like the Bryn Mawr Historic District and Lakewood Balmoral preserve vintage early-1900s housing stock, and the area is well known for its antique shops. The market here skews accessible relative to neighbors to the south, with a median sale price of roughly $268,000 as of early 2026. It is a very walkable, transit-rich place, carrying a Walk Score of 91 and a Transit Score of 73. Transit is the everyday backbone, with the CTA Red Line running alongside Broadway at four stations, Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Thorndale, and Granville, carrying riders straight downtown.
At a glance
Population about 56,300
Roughly 56,300 residents as of the 2020 Census, making Edgewater one of Chicago's denser North Side community areas.
North Side lakefront
Edgewater sits about six miles north of the Loop, bounded by Lake Michigan on the east and wedged between Uptown and Rogers Park.
Andersonville district
The western half holds Andersonville, a Clark Street commercial strip made up almost entirely of independent, locally owned shops and restaurants.
Sheridan Road high-rises
The eastern lakefront along Sheridan Road is a dense corridor of mid-century high-rise apartment and condominium towers.
Vintage housing stock
West of Broadway, the area features single-family homes, greystones, and vintage two, three, and four-flats, with historic districts like Bryn Mawr and Lakewood Balmoral.
Walk Score 91
Edgewater is a walker's paradise, where daily errands do not require a car.
Transit Score 73
Served by four CTA Red Line stations along Broadway: Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Thorndale, and Granville.
Kathy Osterman Beach
The lakefront includes Kathy Osterman Beach, also known as Hollywood Beach, at the northern tip of Lincoln Park.
What it’s actually like to live here
Daily life in Edgewater centers on Andersonville's Clark Street, a commercial district made up almost entirely of independent, locally owned specialty shops, restaurants, and service providers, including longtime Swedish institutions like Simon's Tavern. Dining runs broad, with Ethiopian, French, Japanese, Thai, and American options along Broadway and Clark, reflecting a diverse population that includes longtime Swedish-American families alongside more recent arrivals from the Horn of Africa and the former Yugoslavia. The lakefront is the other anchor, and residents have several beaches, including Foster Beach and Kathy Osterman Beach, plus the northern reaches of Lincoln Park and the Chicago Lakefront Trail, whose northern terminus at Ardmore Avenue sits right in Edgewater.
Edgewater mixes renters and owners, with a tall stock of lakefront apartment and condo towers on the east side and owner-occupied single-family homes and flats to the west. Many residents over the past two decades relocated from pricier Lakeview and Lincoln Park, drawn by relatively affordable housing and the easy Red Line commute downtown. The area has a well-established LGBTQ-friendly reputation, and Andersonville has long been home to a large lesbian and gay population. On the market side, the neighborhood remains accessible, with a median sale price near $268,000 in early 2026 and a market that Redfin rates as somewhat competitive.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Edgewater 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.
Around town
What there is to do in Edgewater.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Kathy Osterman Beach (Hollywood Beach)
A lakefront beach at the northernmost tip of Lincoln Park, renamed in 1993 for the late Edgewater alderman, with a LEED-certified beach house and an adjacent natural area.
- Shopping
Andersonville Commercial District
A Clark Street shopping and dining corridor made up almost entirely of independent, locally owned businesses, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
- Culture
Swedish American Museum
A museum of Swedish-American immigrant history at 5211 N. Clark St. in Andersonville, including the Brunk Children's Museum of Immigration.
- Parks
Chicago Lakefront Trail
A continuous lakefront bike and pedestrian trail whose northern end is at Ardmore Avenue in Edgewater.
- Culture
Berger Park Cultural Center
A lakefront cultural center at 6205 N. Sheridan Rd., set in the historic Downey Mansion, one of the few remaining lakefront mansions.
- Culture
Edgewater Historical Society
A local historical society that documents and preserves the neighborhood's history, including its development timeline and historic districts.
How Edgewater got here
A bit of history.
In 1885, developer John Lewis Cochran, a tobacco salesman from Philadelphia, gave the name Edgewater to the northeastern section of Lake View Township and built the area's first residential subdivision, a planned lakefront development east of Broadway. It was celebrated as a wonder, becoming the only electric-lighted suburb adjacent to Chicago, and many of Cochran's homes still stand in the Lakewood Balmoral Historic District. Cochran named his streets after stations on the Pennsylvania Railroad's Main Line outside Philadelphia, which is why Edgewater has Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, and Thorndale avenues today. Lake View Township was annexed to Chicago in 1889 to meet growing demand for public services. By the early 1900s, Edgewater was regarded as one of the city's most prestigious communities, with lakefront mansions and the famed Edgewater Beach Hotel, which opened in 1916 on Sheridan Road.
To the west, the former farming village of Andersonville grew from a settlement of Swedish immigrant farmers, with the first Andersonville School built in 1854 and the commercial strip along Clark Street coming to be dominated by Swedish-owned businesses. The Edgewater Beach Hotel's yellow tower was razed in 1970, though the pink Edgewater Beach Apartments building survives as a landmark at the north end of Lake Shore Drive. With the extension of Lake Shore Drive in the 1950s and continuing into the 1970s, high-rise condominium developments boomed along the lakefront. Edgewater had been folded into Uptown when Chicago's community areas were first designated in the late 1920s, but in 1980 it was separated back out as its own community area, the most recently established of the city's 77.
The questions buyers actually ask
Edgewater FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Edgewater. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- Where is Edgewater?
- Edgewater is a community area on Chicago's North Side lakefront, about six miles north of the Loop, bordered by Lake Michigan on the east and sitting between Uptown to the south and Rogers Park to the north.
- What is Andersonville?
- Andersonville is a neighborhood in western Edgewater, originally settled by Swedish immigrant farmers in the 19th century, now known for a Clark Street commercial district made up almost entirely of independent, locally owned shops and restaurants.
- What is lakefront condo living like here?
- The eastern edge of Edgewater along Sheridan Road is a dense corridor of mid-century high-rise apartment and condominium towers, many built from the late 1950s through the early 1970s, sitting right on Lake Michigan near the beaches and the north end of Lincoln Park.
- Is Edgewater affordable compared to nearby neighborhoods?
- Relatively, yes. The median sale price was about $268,000 as of early 2026, and Edgewater has long drawn residents priced out of nearby Lakeview and Lincoln Park.
- How is the commute downtown?
- The CTA Red Line runs along Broadway with four Edgewater stations, Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Thorndale, and Granville, providing a direct ride to the Loop, and the neighborhood carries a Transit Score of 73.
- What about beaches and parks?
- Edgewater has several lakefront beaches, including Foster Beach and Kathy Osterman Beach, along with the northern reaches of Lincoln Park and the Chicago Lakefront Trail, whose northern terminus is at Ardmore Avenue in the neighborhood.
- How walkable is it?
- Very. Edgewater holds a Walk Score of 91, ranking among the most walkable neighborhoods in Chicago, with hundreds of restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in the area.
Your local agent
Joe knows Edgewater
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
- Edgewater 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