Oak Park · Cook County · IL
Homes for sale in
Oak Park.
- Active listings
- 52
- Median list
- $433K
- Avg time on market
- 21 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Photo: Dennisyerger84 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Active listings
52 homes on the market
About the community
Living in Oak Park.
Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, sitting immediately west of Chicago's West Side along Austin Boulevard, with a 2020 census population of 54,318. The village is internationally known for its architectural heritage, since Frank Lloyd Wright settled here in 1889 and built the largest collection of Wright-designed residential properties in the world, alongside work by other Prairie School architects. Commuters reach downtown Chicago easily, with CTA Green Line and Blue Line trains and the Metra Union Pacific West Line stopping at the Oak Park station downtown. The compact 4.7-square-mile village is dense and walkable, with historic housing stock built almost entirely between 1892 and 1950. Oak Park is served by Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and, with neighboring River Forest, by Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, and it borders Chicago, Cicero, Berwyn, Forest Park, and River Forest.
At a glance
~54,318 residents
Oak Park had 54,318 residents at the 2020 census, among the most populous municipalities in Illinois.
Frank Lloyd Wright architecture
Oak Park holds the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed residential properties in the world, anchored by the Home and Studio.
CTA plus Metra
Served by CTA Green Line and Blue Line trains plus the Metra Union Pacific West Line Oak Park station downtown.
Oak Park and River Forest High School
Oak Park and River Forest High School, part of District 200, serves Oak Park and neighboring River Forest.
Elementary District 97
Oak Park Elementary School District 97 runs eight elementary schools and two middle schools for nearly 6,000 students in pre-K through 8.
Median home value ~$404k
The Zillow Home Value Index for Oak Park, with variation between historic single-family districts and condo and bungalow blocks.
Median income ~$111k
2024 median household income about $110,820 per Data USA.
Property taxes
Cook County rates run high here, with a median effective rate around 3.04 percent and a median bill near $11,000.
What’s close
Oak Park is compact and transit-rich, with CTA and Metra stations downtown, the Lake Street shopping district, and the Frank Lloyd Wright historic district all within its 4.7 square miles.
- CTA and Metra stations
- CTA Green Line and Blue Line stops plus the Metra Union Pacific West Line Oak Park station downtown, all offering service to Chicago.
- Major roads
- I-290 (Eisenhower Expressway) runs along the south edge, with Lake Street and Madison Street as east-west spines and Harlem Avenue (IL 43) on the west.
- Downtown Oak Park and Lake Street
- The Lake Street corridor and downtown Oak Park form the village's main shopping, dining, and retail district.
- Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District
- The historic district surrounds the Home and Studio and includes the largest concentration of Wright-designed homes anywhere.
- Neighbors
- Oak Park borders Chicago to the east and north, Cicero and Berwyn to the south, and Forest Park and River Forest to the west.
- Pace and CTA bus
- Multiple bus routes supplement the rail service, connecting the village to Chicago and nearby suburbs.
What it’s actually like to live here
Oak Park is a dense, highly walkable village packed into 4.7 square miles, where residents can reach the Lake Street shopping district, downtown restaurants, parks, and rail stations on foot. The housing stock reflects decades of rapid growth between roughly 1892 and 1950, with almost all of the village's current buildings dating from that era. Buyers find Prairie-style homes, classic Chicago bungalows, Queen Anne and other Victorians, and one of the world's great concentrations of Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School architecture, much of it protected within designated historic districts.
Oak Park has long cultivated a reputation as a multicultural and civically engaged community, becoming a national example of intentional racial integration after passing its Open Housing Ordinance in 1968. Civic life is rich, with long-running events like the July 4 fireworks at the high school stadium and the June gathering known as A Day in Our Village. Residents enjoy a robust park system run by the Park District of Oak Park, including the historic Oak Park Conservatory, plus easy access to dining, retail, and cultural attractions throughout the village.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Oak Park 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 Oak Park.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D200Grades 9-12
Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200
Schools serving the area
- Oak Park and River Forest High School
A single comprehensive high school district shared by Oak Park and neighboring River Forest.
- D97Grades Pre-K-8
Oak Park Elementary School District 97
Schools serving the area
- Brooks Middle School
- Julian Middle School
- Beye Elementary
- Longfellow Elementary
- Whittier Elementary
Eight elementary schools and two middle schools serve nearly 6,000 students across Oak Park. River Forest is served by separate District 90. Verify by address.
Around town
What there is to do in Oak Park.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Culture
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
Wright's private residence and workplace from 1889 to 1909, where he pioneered the Prairie School style, now a guided-tour house museum.
- Culture
Unity Temple
Wright's 1905 to 1908 reinforced-concrete masterpiece, a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.
- Culture
Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum
The restored 1890s Queen Anne home where Hemingway was born in 1899, operated by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park.
- Parks
Oak Park Conservatory
A historic public conservatory on the National Register of Historic Places housing thousands of plants across multiple biome rooms.
- Food & Drink
Downtown Oak Park
The village's central retail, dining, and entertainment district along Lake Street, walkable from the CTA and Metra stations.
- Culture
Pleasant Home
A 30-room Prairie-style mansion designed by George W. Maher, on the National Register of Historic Places and open for tours.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Oak Park.
MetraUP-W line
- Stations: Oak Park
- Terminal: Chicago Ogilvie Transportation Center
DriveBy car
- Routes: I-290 (Eisenhower Expressway) · Harlem Avenue (IL 43) · Lake Street · Madison Street
- O'Hare Airport: ~22 min
- Chicago Loop: ~20 min
By the numbers
Oak Park taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
3.04%
effective avg
Sales tax
10.00%
combined
Median sold price
$453,750
MRED · last 12 mo (500 sales)
Median household income
$110,820
ACS
How Oak Park got here
A bit of history.
Oak Park was first settled in 1835, when Joseph and Betty Kettlestrings, immigrants from Yorkshire, England, staked out a farm near Lake Street and Harlem Avenue, west of Chicago. The land carried several local names, including Oak Ridge, Harlem, and Kettlestrings Grove, before the first post office settled on the name Oak Park. The arrival of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad by 1850 and the village's own railroad depot in 1872 spurred rapid growth, especially after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 sent Chicago residents westward into what was then the town of Cicero. Oak Park grew from about 500 residents in 1872 to more than 20,000 by 1910, and the Village of Oak Park was formally established in 1902 after a referendum separated it from Cicero.
Oak Park's identity is closely tied to its architecture and its writers. In 1889, architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his wife Catherine Tobin settled in the village, where Wright spent the first 20 years of his career building numerous homes, his own Home and Studio, and Unity Temple, his Unitarian-Universalist church built between 1905 and 1908. The village holds the largest collection of Wright-designed residential properties in the world, plus work by Prairie School architects such as George W. Maher and E.E. Roberts. Author Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park in 1899 and spent his early childhood at 339 North Oak Park Avenue, a home now restored as a museum. A focus on historic preservation that began in the 1970s has produced multiple defined historic districts protecting the village's housing stock.
The questions buyers actually ask
Oak Park FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Oak Park. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- How long is the commute from Oak Park to downtown Chicago?
- It is short. The Metra Union Pacific West Line gets you from the Oak Park station to Ogilvie Transportation Center in roughly 16 to 20 minutes, and you also have the CTA Green Line and Blue Line trains running straight into the Loop, plus a quick drive in via I-290.
- What do homes cost in Oak Park?
- The typical home value in Oak Park is around $404,000 per Zillow's Home Value Index, with plenty of variation between the historic single-family districts and the condo and bungalow blocks. Census survey data puts the median property value somewhat higher.
- Are property taxes high in Oak Park?
- Yes, and buyers should budget for it. Oak Park sits in Cook County with a median effective property tax rate of roughly 3.04 percent and a median annual bill near $11,000, which is well above the Illinois and national medians.
- How are the schools?
- Oak Park is served by Oak Park Elementary School District 97, with eight elementary schools and two middle schools for pre-K through 8, and by Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, whose single high school it shares with neighboring River Forest.
- What is the deal with the architecture and historic districts?
- Oak Park has the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes in the world, plus Unity Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and work by other Prairie School architects, much of it protected inside designated historic districts. If you love early 20th century architecture, this is one of the best places in the country to own a home.
- Is Oak Park walkable, and what is there to do?
- Very walkable. It is a compact village where you can stroll to the Lake Street shopping and dining district, the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Unity Temple, the Hemingway Birthplace Museum, the Oak Park Conservatory, and the rail stations.
- What towns border Oak Park?
- Oak Park borders Chicago to the east and north, Cicero and Berwyn to the south, and Forest Park and River Forest to the west.
Nearby
Towns next to Oak Park.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the places that border Oak Park.
Your local agent
Joe knows Oak Park
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
- Oak Park 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