If you’re thinking about packing up the family and moving to
Chicago, well, we can’t blame you. It’s a beautiful city filled with more arts and culture than most states—but there’s something else you might want to consider: the schools.
Sure, there are some excellent schools in Chicago, but the truth is, some of the best options for your kids’ education are just outside of the city.
That’s right, you might just want to head to the ‘burbs.
Here they are, the 10 best Chicago suburbs for education:
1. Glencoe
2. Winnetka (tie)
2. Northfield (tie)
4. Wilmette
5. River Forest (tie)
5. Lincolnshire (tie)
7. Arlington Heights
8. Lake Forest
9. Oak Brook
10. Park Ridge
We came up with this list of places by looking at all of the larger communities near Chicago in terms of these criteria:
- Student-to-teacher ratio
- Money spent per student
- High school graduation rate
- GreatSchools.org score
Then, after a whole lot of math and analysis, we had our list of 10. We figure you have enough math on your brain just helping your kids through algebra, though, so we’ll take a look at the details of our analysis later. For now, let’s study our top 10.
1. Glencoe
Key Stats:
- High school graduation rate: 100 percent
- GreatSchools.org score: 10 out of 10
You know the idyllic, postcard place, where children still play in their front yards, where neighbors smile and wave while walking the dog, and you know, the skies are blue and colored with rainbows all the time? Well, that’s pretty much Glencoe. Minus the rainbows.
For real, though, this quiet village, tucked in between Lake Michigan, the Cook County Forest Preserve, and the Glencoe Golf Course, is an ideal place to raise a family—especially in terms of education.
FYI: A high school graduation rate of 100 percent is almost unheard of. Glencoe was the only place near Chicago with such an impressive rate.
2. Winnetka
Key Stats:
- High school graduation rate: 99 percent
- GreatSchools.org score: 10 out of 10
If you’ve visited this little village outside of Chicago, you might have left wondering just what it was about it that made it so charming. Well, a big part of it might have a little something to do with the fact that most of Winnetka was built before the automobile came around, so being able to walk everywhere was essential.
Today, residents can still walk or ride their bikes to trains, shops, parks, or schools—just an added bonus when you’re hustling to get the kids out the door in the morning.
Maybe the overall quaint and welcoming vibe of Winnetka has something to do with students’ excellent performance in schools (especially the award-winning New Trier High School)—they had the second highest graduation rate and tied for the best GreatSchools.org score. Good job, kids!
2. Northfield
Key Stats:
- Student-to-teacher ratio: 12:1
- High school graduation rate: 98 percent
- GreatSchools.org score: 10 out of 10
With its luxurious houses, vast lawns, and tree-lined residential streets, this affluent community is not just a beautiful place to raise your children, but it’s a pretty smart investment in their future.
That’s because Northfield, home to New Trier High School (freshman campus), Middlefork, and Sunset Ridge School (just to name a few), is known far and wide as one of the best places for education in the area.
The best part is, the education is personal. It’s hard to beat a student-to-teacher ratio of just 12 to 1. No wonder they do so well on tests!
4. Wilmette
Key Stats:
- Money spent per student: $22,289
- High school graduation rate: 98 percent
Wilmette is served by the Avoca School (district 37), Wilmette Public Schools (district 39), and of course, the famously awesome New Trier High School, the main campus of which is in neighboring Winnetka.
Of all the places we looked at, Wilmette had one of the highest budgets per student, at over $22,000. Just to put that into perspective, the average for the Chicago area is about $14,000 per student.
This, plus a student-to-teacher ratio of just 13 to 1, and it’s no wonder students do so well in Wilmette.
5. River Forest
Key Stats:
- Money spent per student: $18,067
- High school graduation rate: 97 percent
Here’s another place outside of Chicago where money is no object when it comes to the education of its young residents—probably a big reason they tend to do so well.
So it’s a good thing River Forest is home to two universities—Concordia and Dominican University. With so many students successfully graduating from high school, they’re going to need someplace to go.
Plus, Mom and Dad, they can even stay home and live with you for the next four years. Everyone wins!
5. Lincolnshire
Key Stats:
- Money spent per student: $22,472
- GreatSchools.org score:10 out of 10
This certainly isn’t the first time Lincolnshire has been recognized for its excellence. From awards from The Arbor Day Foundation to several others for being environmentally friendly, this community is a good example of what it means to be green.
And speaking of green, it seems Lincolnshire knows the right way to spend it—on its students and future leaders. It had the second highest budget per student in the area.
7. Arlington Heights
Key Stats:
- Student-to-teacher ratio: 13:1
- GreatSchools.org score: 10 out of 10
Here’s a fun fact—Arlington Heights schools are not only famous for being absolutely excellent in terms of test scores and individual attention for students, one of these schools is also famous for a much different reason.
We’ll let you guess. A) Actress Jennifer Morrison went to high school here, B) Actress Marlee Matlin went to high school here, C) “A Nightmare on Elm Street” was filmed in a high school here, or D) All of the above.
Yep, it’s D. You guys really are good at taking tests.
8. Lake Forest
Key Stats:
- Student-to-teacher ratio: 14:1
- High school graduation rate: 97 percent
Lake Forest is probably one of the most nurturing communities near Chicago you’ll encounter. What we mean is, they start taking care of residents’ education from about the time they enter the world.
There are early childhood programs offer through the Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Department, summer camps for all ages, and of course, there’s the Kinderhaven Preschool Academy, which is just about as magical as it sounds.
And once your kids are older, they’ll still get any individual attention they need with one of the smallest student-to-teacher ratios near Chicago.
9. Oak Brook
Key Stats:
- Student-to-teacher ratio: 10:1
- GreatSchools.org score: 10 out of 10
Oak Brook is unique in that its schools are able to have
the lowest student-to-teacher ratio and
the best score possible from GreatSchools.org, and yet they don’t break the bank doing it.
As a matter of fact, Oak Brook had the lowest budget for its students in our top 10 at $12,585. So sure, you might think that with a little more money spent per student, they might leave with a better education—but honestly, that’s not really possible in this case.
Oak Brook has found a way to give students personal attention and ultimately earn some of the best test scores in the area, all spending less than average for the area. Nicely done, Oak Brook.
10. Park Ridge
Key Stats:
- Student-to-teacher ratio: 12 to 1
- GreatSchools.org score: 9 out of 10
This charming Chicago suburb is dotted with parks, tree-lined residential streets, unique boutiques, award-winning restaurants, and of course, award-winning schools. It really has something for every member of your family.
Anyway, back to the schools. With such close attention from teachers, Park Ridge students score well on tests year after year, giving them a GreatSchools.org score of 9 out of 10.
Oh yeah, and Hillary Clinton, Harrison Ford, and the fifth wealthiest man in the world, Larry Ellison, all graduated from high schools in Park Ridge. Not a bad advertisement for Park Ridge’s education, eh?
In Conclusion
In conclusion, we propose that due to the aforementioned evidence, these 10 communities near Chicago are far superior to…
Okay, this is no research paper. Basically, as you can see, some communities near Chicago are simply better than others when it comes to education. And it doesn’t get any better than Glencoe.
Our Methodology
If you haven’t had enough math just helping your kids study, feel free to read this section, all about our methodology. Otherwise, hop to the bottom where you can see a more complete list of the places we looked at.
We started out by gathering up all of the places near Chicago with populations of 5,000 people or more. Then, with sources like the
U.S. Census,
AreaVibes,
GreatSchools.org, and the
Illinois State Board of Education’s 2014 fiscal year report, we looked at each place in terms of these excellent education criteria:
- Student-to-teacher ratio
- Money spent per student
- High school graduation rate
- GreatSchools.org score
Any places that didn’t have complete data were eliminated, which left us with a total of 93 suburbs. We ranked these with scores from one to 93 in each category, averaged them into one overall
Big Deal Score, and we had our top 10.
If you’re interested in moving to the Chicago area, just
get in touch and we’ll help you out.
Feature Image Source: Kurman Communications, Inc. via Flickr
What’s your favorite school in the Chicago area? Tell us in the comments below! 
