Lake County Tiers (Chicago, Waukegan, Buffalo Grove: middle-class, section 8, houses)
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Hello (very loving) City-Data forum members,
As you likely know, I have made many tier list videos before, and a common criticism was that I didn’t know much about the areas I was tiering. So, I have chosen to make a tier list of areas I know pretty well: Lake County, since I live here. Here are my tiers:
Tier 1: Bad parts
This is the tier where the least desirable communities of Lake County are. ‘Nuff said. Obviously not as bad as some areas in Cook County, but they’re not very nice either. Areas here are Zion, Waukegan, and North Chicago.
Tier 2: Not-so-great parts
This is the tier with the parts of the county that aren’t bad, per se, but that I wouldn’t want to live in, for one reason or another, bad schools in particular. Here, Mundelein, Park City, Wauconda, and the Round Lake suburbs get a nod.
Tier 3: Okay parts
This is the tier where I would put most middle-class, well-to-do areas of Lake County, that have good, but not sublime schools, and where wealth and the housing market is stable, but not amazing. Grayslake, Antioch, Lake Zurich, Lindenhurst, and Gurnee (it has amenities) belong here,
Tier 4: Pretty good parts
This is the tier where I would put the well-regarded, safe, down-to-earth areas of the county. Here, schools are excellent, and homes are beautiful, but these aren’t the most valued areas, and while many properties are indeed quite expensive, homes can go rather cheaply as well. I’d put Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Buffalo Grove, and Lake Bluff here.
Tier 5: Extremely well-regarded (kind of snooty) parts
This is where the very, very upscale, wealthy areas are in Lake County. I’m talking Fortune 500, billionaires, all the shabang. I have to put my own town of Lincolnshire here, given the community’s impression of me, as well as Lake Forest, Deerfield, and Long Grove here.
So, there’s my list. What amends, or changes would you make to these tiers? Comment below! Stay tuned for more Chicago Suburb commentary. Signing off,
Pseudo Nym
It isn't as cut & dry IMO. Lake Bluff has some palatial mansions on Lake Michigan which Long Grove, Lincolnshire, & certainly Deerfield are unable to have because they aren't situated right on the lakeshore. Plus it's basically shares most amenities with neighboring Lake Forest (former Chicago Bull / current Chicago Bulls executive John Paxson lived there as does the current Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy).
Now, to your point I guess, some will certainly say that Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire is ranked higher than Lake Forest High School.
Also, I think there are safe, leafy sections of Mundelein with pretty large McMansions that make it tough to say it's in a "not-so-great" part of the county.
You failed to mention Highland Park (and neighboring Highwood). Would be interesting to get your take on those. You also didn't mention Fox Lake / Chain Of Lakes areas.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 02-14-2020 at 01:17 PM..
Reason: Quoted post deleted.
You failed to mention Highland Park (and neighboring Highwood). Would be interesting to get your take on those. You also didn't mention Fox Lake / Chain Of Lakes areas.
Highland Park would prolly be a 4 due to amenities and wealth, of course, but also is hindered by school quality in general going down. Highwood would solidly be a 3 - it’s middle-income, and while on the North Shore, it’s not as well-off as other nearby areas.
Fox Lake is very far north. It’s not an extremely high income area, but also not extremely poor. If I’m not mistaken, Fox Lake students attend Antioch schools, which are good but not great. It gets a solid 3, like Highwood.
Just sticking to the places you mention and not the ones you have left out.......
I would move Wauconda to 3. It is pretty much indistinguishable from most of the other 3s you have listed. I would move Deerfield and Lincolnshire to 4. Not in the same league as Lake Forest or Long Grove, or Lake Bluff (which I would move to 5) and much more in common with the other 4s.
Mundelein is a tough one which demonstrates that tiering suburbs as a whole is not very meaningful. There are parts that should be in 4. Much should be in 3, but some parts belong in 2 where you put them. Something to consider is that many people in Mundelein view Carmel as their local HS (even though it is not public) and not Mundelein HS, so public school performance is not as big a factor for them (but it certainly affects property values). Also, parts of Mundelein are assigned to Stevenson HS and Libertyville HS. Mundelein often gets a bad rap as a whole that it largely does not deserve, and like many (most?) suburbs, does not lend itself to being classified as part of any "tiers".
I believe when you're looking at Mundelein as a whole, as others have stated, it's tough to judge it on its own. As others have stated, it's split among two school districts (75 and Fremont, if I remember correctly).
Perhaps Wauconda as a whole is in line with Mundelein, but the school district is definitely better than 75, likely not as good a Fremont.
RE: Fox Lake - I'm not sure where it feeds for high school, but they definitely have their own elementary district with some pretty new school buildings.
Just sticking to the places you mention and not the ones you have left out.......
I would move Wauconda to 3. It is pretty much indistinguishable from most of the other 3s you have listed. I would move Deerfield and Lincolnshire to 4. Not in the same league as Lake Forest or Long Grove, or Lake Bluff (which I would move to 5) and much more in common with the other 4s.
Mundelein is a tough one which demonstrates that tiering suburbs as a whole is not very meaningful. There are parts that should be in 4. Much should be in 3, but some parts belong in 2 where you put them. Something to consider is that many people in Mundelein view Carmel as their local HS (even though it is not public) and not Mundelein HS, so public school performance is not as big a factor for them (but it certainly affects property values). Also, parts of Mundelein are assigned to Stevenson HS and Libertyville HS. Mundelein often gets a bad rap as a whole that it largely does not deserve, and like many (most?) suburbs, does not lend itself to being classified as part of any "tiers".
I actually agree with your assessment of Mundelein; although the area covered by SHS is very small, there are good areas by the Fremont area, that although are zoned to Mundelein HS, isn’t all too bad. After all, Mundelein HS isn’t a terrible high school, albeit not being the best in its area. And yes, many wealthier Mundelein residents view Carmel as their local high school, although its ranking is severely hampered by some Section 8 in the Diamond Lake area, and along Route 45.
Lake Bluff is a harder one for me. Obviously, it borders the lake, and is considered to be a solidly North Shore suburb, but it is hampered by the presence of the Great Lakes area; once you go past the Naval Base, you’re in North Chicago..not so nice.
Wauconda schools do not have the best reputation in my area; it seems to perform below average relative to other Lake County high schools, and has many cases of bullying in the area. So I’d leave it at a 2.
The Fremont School District boundaries are confusing. As already mentioned, the majority go on to Mundelein HS but a very small portion go on to Stevenson.
Fox Lake feeds into Grant High School, not Antioch HS.
We've been a part of the Long Grove community for a few years now and absolutely love it. District 96 has been a perfect fit. I've yet to come across any snobbery.
The Fremont School District boundaries are confusing. As already mentioned, the majority go on to Mundelein HS but a very small portion go on to Stevenson.
Fox Lake feeds into Grant High School, not Antioch HS.
We've been a part of the Long Grove community for a few years now and absolutely love it. District 96 has been a perfect fit. I've yet to come across any snobbery.
Yes. I live in Lincolnshire, which is a similar sized-suburb, with similar houses, and similar schools (Yes, Daniel Wright, my alma mater, is comparable to Woodlawn, as much as many would want to deny this.) By “snootiness,” obviously most people are not spoiled snobs, like you can genuinely find in other areas, but people are more likely to be sheltered, and have a more simplistic world view than someone from say, Round Lake. That is what I mean.
Hello (very loving) City-Data forum members,
As you likely know, I have made many tier list videos before, and a common criticism was that I didn’t know much about the areas I was tiering. So, I have chosen to make a tier list of areas I know pretty well: Lake County, since I live here. Here are my tiers:
Tier 1: Bad parts
This is the tier where the least desirable communities of Lake County are. ‘Nuff said. Obviously not as bad as some areas in Cook County, but they’re not very nice either. Areas here are Zion, Waukegan, and North Chicago.
Tier 2: Not-so-great parts
This is the tier with the parts of the county that aren’t bad, per se, but that I wouldn’t want to live in, for one reason or another, bad schools in particular. Here, Mundelein, Park City, Wauconda, and the Round Lake suburbs get a nod.
Tier 3: Okay parts
This is the tier where I would put most middle-class, well-to-do areas of Lake County, that have good, but not sublime schools, and where wealth and the housing market is stable, but not amazing. Grayslake, Antioch, Lake Zurich, Lindenhurst, and Gurnee (it has amenities) belong here,
Tier 4: Pretty good parts
This is the tier where I would put the well-regarded, safe, down-to-earth areas of the county. Here, schools are excellent, and homes are beautiful, but these aren’t the most valued areas, and while many properties are indeed quite expensive, homes can go rather cheaply as well. I’d put Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Buffalo Grove, and Lake Bluff here.
Tier 5: Extremely well-regarded (kind of snooty) parts
This is where the very, very upscale, wealthy areas are in Lake County. I’m talking Fortune 500, billionaires, all the shabang. I have to put my own town of Lincolnshire here, given the community’s impression of me, as well as Lake Forest, Deerfield, and Long Grove here.
So, there’s my list. What amends, or changes would you make to these tiers? Comment below! Stay tuned for more Chicago Suburb commentary. Signing off,
Pseudo Nym
I would have Lake Forest stand alone in Tier 5.
In terms of cost, and despite the luxury market, Vernon Hills is probably more in line with the Tier 3s, as is Buffalo Grove. Not any different than Lake Zurich. I can see why schools might give it a Tier 4.
Hello (very loving) City-Data forum members,
As you likely know, I have made many tier list videos before, and a common criticism was that I didn’t know much about the areas I was tiering. So, I have chosen to make a tier list of areas I know pretty well: Lake County, since I live here. Here are my tiers:
Tier 1: Bad parts
This is the tier where the least desirable communities of Lake County are. ‘Nuff said. Obviously not as bad as some areas in Cook County, but they’re not very nice either. Areas here are Zion, Waukegan, and North Chicago.
Tier 2: Not-so-great parts
This is the tier with the parts of the county that aren’t bad, per se, but that I wouldn’t want to live in, for one reason or another, bad schools in particular. Here, Mundelein, Park City, Wauconda, and the Round Lake suburbs get a nod.
Tier 3: Okay parts
This is the tier where I would put most middle-class, well-to-do areas of Lake County, that have good, but not sublime schools, and where wealth and the housing market is stable, but not amazing. Grayslake, Antioch, Lake Zurich, Lindenhurst, and Gurnee (it has amenities) belong here,
Tier 4: Pretty good parts
This is the tier where I would put the well-regarded, safe, down-to-earth areas of the county. Here, schools are excellent, and homes are beautiful, but these aren’t the most valued areas, and while many properties are indeed quite expensive, homes can go rather cheaply as well. I’d put Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Buffalo Grove, and Lake Bluff here.
Tier 5: Extremely well-regarded (kind of snooty) parts
This is where the very, very upscale, wealthy areas are in Lake County. I’m talking Fortune 500, billionaires, all the shabang. I have to put my own town of Lincolnshire here, given the community’s impression of me, as well as Lake Forest, Deerfield, and Long Grove here.
So, there’s my list. What amends, or changes would you make to these tiers? Comment below! Stay tuned for more Chicago Suburb commentary. Signing off,
Pseudo Nym
Interesting. I didn't know Waukegan was considered so undesirable. Is this because it is mostly Latino and Black? North Chicago has always been slammed because it was mainly black. Zion was always hillbilly country, but I guess it is undesirable for its high concentration of Latino and Black people now?
I've never been impressed with Buffalo Grove. It seems more like a tier 2 or 3. Mundelein feels more like a higher tier. Guess I haven't been there in awhile. Libertyville is definitely a tier 4. I'm thinking of buying some property there. Highland Park probably is a tier 5.
Racially speaking, the more concentration a city has of black and Latino, the lower the tier. Really gives new meaning to the reputation of the region as severely racially segregated and this is unfortunate. Waukegan for instance, has some fine people, and parts of that town are beautiful, sublime, high quality w/o the high price.
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