What's the nicest county in Chicago area?

[Brisklaw]

Lake County
Income: IL average is $54K, Lake Co, is $105K, at least according to Lake County, Illinois (IL) - Household income, demographics, local cities, towns and villages
Althought the demographics there are not what they once used to be.

[lakecountylifer]

Lake County....of course

[noid_1985]

Lake County easy....

[Chicagoland60426]

I think its Dupage, even though lake County is slightly wealthier. Dupage have the better biggest city between the two counties. No comparison with Naperville vs. Waukegan

[gardener34]

Kane county has an excellent forest preserve system.

However, I would caution you to check zoning codes no matter which county you are looking in. As they vary significantly and at times they may have the potential to impact your quality of life, esp. in regards to living in unincorporated areas.

I like Kane but I think Dupage is really nice and has some nice towns in it. That is the county I used to live in and I liked it better than Kane for a variety of reasons.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by joseph107

Are they all the same or are some much better or worse?

The one closest to where you are working so you can avoid the area traffic.

[lakecountylifer]

Here are some of the reasons Lake county stands out vs. the competition:

-State Parks, Forest Preserves & Beaches: You have the Chain of Lakes state park and Illinois Beach state park. Independence Grove in Libertyville is absolutely awesome. The Des Plaines river trail takes you the entire length of the county from the Wisconsin line to Cook County through amazing forest preserves such as Daniel Wright Woods, Ryerson Woods, Van Patten Woods-----all world class amenities. Highland Park and Lake Forest also have premiere lake Michigan beaches.

-Entrainment & Shopping: Six Flags & Hurricane Harbor, Ravinia, Hawthorne, Deer Park, Long Grove, Chicago Botanic Gardens (OK technically south of of lake cook rd.), Key Lime Cove Water Park/Hotel and Six Flags.

-Proximity between Chicago and Milwaukee. Cub fan? Take 94 to Dempster and hop on the Skokie Swift; or easily able to attend 9 extra Cub games a year by traveling to Miller Park.

-Good Mix of people in different demographics.

-Good Mix of housing: Older classic homes in South East Lake County and newer construction with affordable prices in northern lake county.

-Jobs: Many fortune 500 companies are in Lake County. Can't find work in Lake County? You can travel to cook county....or your within driving distance of the Milwaukee metro too.

Transportation: 3 Metra lines to Chicago, RTA bus, O'Hare and Mitchell Field are both options for flying.

Sales Tax- 6.5-7% vs. Crook County. Even better, shop in Kenosha County which has a 5.5% sales tax.

Finally--- The Bears and Bulls both have their practice facilities in Lake County!

[joseph107]

I see Dupage has higher household income than lake:


100 highest-income counties by median household income (2000) [3]

Source: US Census Bureau: 2000 Census

RankCountyMedian
Household
Income1Douglas County, Colorado$82,9292Fairfax County, Virginia$81,0503Loudoun County, Virginia$80,6484Hunterdon County, New Jersey$79,8885Los Alamos County, New Mexico$78,9936Morris County, New Jersey$77,3407Somerset County, New Jersey$76,9338City of Falls Church, Virginia$74,9249Santa Clara County, California$74,33510Howard County, Maryland$74,16711Putnam County, New York$72,27912Nassau County, New York$72,03013Montgomery County, Maryland$71,55114Marin County, California$71,30615Fayette County, Georgia$71,22716Hamilton County, Indiana$71,02617Collin County, Texas$70,83518San Mateo County, California$70,81919Johnson County, Kansas$69,81720Williamson County, Tennessee$69,10421Forsyth County, Georgia$68,89022Rockland County, New York$67,97123DuPage County, Illinois$67,88724City of Fairfax, Virginia$67,64225Livingston County, Michigan$67,40026Delaware County, Ohio$67,25827Lake County, Illinois$66,973