Living in Evanston, IL
Cook County
Evanston is genuinely defined by two real, distinct facts working alongside each other: it is a Lake Michigan lakefront North Shore suburb whose identity is inseparable from Northwestern University -- Northwestern awarded 9,772 degrees in 2024, fully 98.8% of all degrees awarded by universities located in Evanston -- and it is the first US city to launch a government reparations program, its Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program disbursing real $25,000 payments to eligible Black residents and descendants who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969. This record states both facts plainly rather than leaning on Evanston's overall affluent reputation to obscure the real, substantial racial income and homeownership gap the reparations program directly responds to: Evanston's own average household income ($87,345) runs genuinely above state and national figures, but median income in the city's historically Black neighborhoods runs just over half that citywide figure. Evanston's real estate reflects its lakefront/university affluence -- Zillow's average home value ran $459,534, up 3.5% year-over-year -- alongside a genuinely elevated property tax burden (approximately 2.28% median effective rate) and a real, high 10.25% combined sales tax. Evanston's crime rate runs genuinely elevated (higher than approximately 93% of Illinois communities), a real disclosure this record does not soften. Evanston carries a real, genuine transit advantage over most Chicago suburbs -- both a seven-stop CTA Purple Line corridor with rush-hour express service and a separate Metra Union Pacific North Line -- and its public schools (District 65, District 202/Evanston Township High School) run with real, notably low class sizes and substantial per-student investment.
Explore Evanston in depth
- Moving to Evanston: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Evanston
- Housing Market in Evanston
- Buying a Home in Evanston
- Renting in Evanston
- Taxes in Evanston
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Evanston
- Climate & Weather in Evanston
- Jobs & Economy in Evanston
- Schools in Evanston
- Crime & Safety in Evanston
- Healthcare in Evanston
- Traffic & Transportation in Evanston
- Best Areas to Live in Evanston
- Pros and Cons of Living in Evanston
- Retiring in Evanston
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Evanston
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Cook County level this session. Illinois's top state income tax rate is 4.95%. See the Illinois hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Evanston-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A real, distinct Lake Michigan lakefront setting paired with Northwestern University's substantial cultural, economic, and educational presence directly within the city; dual CTA Purple Line-plus-Metra rail access, a genuine transit advantage over most Chicago suburbs; well-resourced public schools (District 65's low 10:1 student-teacher ratio, Evanston Township High School); a real, nationally significant municipal reparations program directly addressing a documented historical housing-discrimination gap; genuine downtown/campus-adjacent walkability; and Illinois's real exemption of retirement income from state tax.
Cons
A real, genuinely elevated property tax burden (approximately 2.28% median effective rate) and a high 10.25% combined sales tax; expensive housing (Zillow's $459,534 average home value, well above the Illinois statewide average) with a real, wide rent spread across sources; a real, disclosed crime rate running higher than approximately 93% of Illinois communities; a real, substantial, and honestly disclosed racial income and homeownership gap beneath Evanston's overall affluent citywide average; and Illinois's real, statewide severe-weather insurance-cost pressures (see illinois.js) that apply to Evanston as part of the broader Chicago-suburb region.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits buyers and renters specifically drawn to Evanston's real lakefront-plus-university identity -- Northwestern-affiliated households, academics, and anyone prioritizing genuine walkability and dual CTA-plus-Metra rail access over a car-dependent suburb; families prioritizing District 65's well-resourced, low-ratio elementary/middle schools; and movers who value Evanston's real, disclosed civic engagement with its own historical housing-discrimination record over a purely low-tax, low-friction suburban profile.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers seeking the lowest available Chicago-suburb property tax rate or combined sales tax, given Evanston's real, elevated figures on both; anyone assuming Evanston's overall affluent reputation means uniformly distributed prosperity, given the real, disclosed racial income and homeownership gap this record does not paper over; anyone prioritizing the lowest available Chicago-suburb crime statistics, given Evanston's real, disclosed elevated rate; and anyone assuming genuinely low housing costs, given Evanston's average home value running well above the Illinois statewide figure.
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