< back to the Housing Market Indicators Data Portal

Lake County

Lake County is a county situated in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois along the shores of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, making it the third-most populous county in Illinois after nearby Cook and DuPage Counties. Its county seat is Waukegan, the ninth-largest city in Illinois. Lake County is one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area, located immediately to the north of Cook County. According to the 2010 census, Lake County is the second most wealthy county in Illinois by per capita income, after Dupage County. Additionally, Lake County ranks as the 27th wealthiest county in the nation. The lakefront communities of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Highland Park are part of the affluent North Shore area. Naval Station Great Lakes is located in the city of North Chicago. It is the United States Navy's Headquarters Command for training, and the Navy's only recruit training center. (Source: Wikipedia)

Housing stock map

See the share of the area's total housing units that are in single family homes, condominiums, two-to-four unit buildings, buildings with five to 49 units, and buildings with 50 units or more.


The Composition of Cook County’s Housing Market >

Housing market indicators

All of these property level data sets are connected to parcel-level data files from the county Assessors offices that include data on every parcel in the Chicago metropolitan area. All of these parcel-level data sets include historical data and are updated on a regular basis ranging from every week to every year depending on the data set.

Property Sales Activity

This indicator provides information on how active local residential property markets are, what types of properties are being purchased, who is buying them, and how much buyers are paying for properties.

Total Sales Activity

This is the total number of property sales in a given year. In Cook County, data are broken out separately for total sales activity on single family homes, condominium units, two-to-four unit buildings, and in buildings with five or more units. Outside of Cook County, data are for all residential parcels.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 19,322 15,467 11,521 7,513 6,779 6,935 7,078 9,025 11,593 10,314 10,481 11,756 11,781 11,266 11,195 10,506 14,321 11,602 8,685


Sales per 100 Residential Parcels

This indicator allows users to compare the level of property sales activity across geographies. This data point represents the total number of sales on all residential parcels divided by the total number of residential parcels in a given year, multiplied by 100.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 8.8 7.1 5.3 3.4 3.1 3.2 3.2 4.1 5.3 4.7 4.8 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.1 4.8 6.6 5.3 4.0


Share of Sales, Business Buyers

This represents a range of investor types from small mom-and-pop investors to large Wall Street-traded equity funds. Heightened levels of single family homes purchased by business buyers is often indicative of a distressed and low priced inventory of homes, and low demand for owner-occupied housing in a neighborhood. In Cook County, this data point is available as the share of total sales activity where the buyer was a business entity by property type (single family homes, condominium units, two-to-four unit buildings, and in buildings with five or more units). Outside of Cook County, data are for all residential parcels.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 7.3% 7.2% 7.3% 7.9% 9.3% 9.9% 11.7% 11.4% 13.2% 10.2% 9.0% 9.6% 7.6% 7.6% 7.6% 5.8% 5.6% 6.5% 8.4%


Share of Sales, Extremely Low Value

This represents the percent of sales that were purchased for less than $20,000 in a given year. In Cook County, this data point is available as the share of total sales activity that sold for less than $20,000 by property type (single family homes, condominium units, two-to-four unit buildings, and in buildings with five or more units). Outside of Cook County, data are for all residential parcels.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.5% 0.5% 0.7% 0.8% 0.6% 0.6% 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.5% 0.6%


Mortgage Activity

These data measure the flow of mortgage credit into an area and indicates the level of lender investment. The level of mortgage activity in a neighborhood relative to other areas can assess how access to credit has changed over time in a community and how the flow of credit differs across geographies and for different property types.

Total Mortgage Activity

This is the total number of mortgages in a given year. In Cook County, data are broken out separately for total mortgage activity on single family homes, condominium units, two-to-four unit buildings, and in buildings with five or more units. Outside of Cook County, data are for all residential parcels.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 69,215 59,296 47,850 32,698 35,377 31,577 26,170 34,322 27,618 19,498 21,879 25,720 21,045 17,623 21,043 32,513 35,947 19,906 12,443


Mortgages per 100 Residential Parcels

This indicator allows users to compare the level of mortgage activity across geographies. This data point represents the total number of mortgage liens on all residential parcels divided by the total number of residential parcels in a given year, multiplied by 100.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 31.7 27.1 21.9 15.0 16.2 14.5 12.0 15.7 12.6 8.9 10.0 11.8 9.6 8.1 9.6 14.9 16.5 9.1 5.7


Foreclosure Filing Activity

This is an indicator of distress in a local housing market and viewing changing levels of activity allows for an understanding of the evolving nature of the foreclosure crisis in a neighborhood.

Total Foreclosure Filings Activity

This is the total number of new foreclosure filings in a given year. In Cook County, data are broken out separately for foreclosure filing activity on single family homes, condominium units, two-to-four unit buildings, and in buildings with five or more units. Outside of Cook County, data are for all residential parcels.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 1,700 2,244 3,048 4,621 5,738 6,604 5,382 5,767 3,268 2,240 1,809 1,590 1,436 1,037 1,231 471 266 957 843


Foreclosure Filings per 100 Residential Parcels

This indicator allows users to compare the level of foreclosure filing activity across geographies. This data point represents the total number of foreclosure filings on all residential parcels divided by the total number of residential parcels in a given year, multiplied by 100.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 0.8 1.0 1.4 2.1 2.6 3.0 2.5 2.6 1.5 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.4


Cumulative Foreclosure Filings Activity

Annual levels of foreclosure filing activity likely do not convey the impact that foreclosure has had in a particular community, as geographies vary in density and size, and the drivers behind the Great Recession foreclosure crisis led to very different annual patterns of foreclosure filing activity across the region. This indicator represents the cumulative impact of foreclosure in a neighborhood measured as the unique share of residential properties that have had at least one foreclosure filing since 2005.


Property Type 2023
All Residential Properties 17.8%


Foreclosure Auctions

These are properties that have completed the foreclosure process. Understanding foreclosure auction activity helps determine the flow of year-over-year of REO (real estate owned) properties into a market, how third-party demand at auctions differs based on property types, and the density of REO activity across geographies. The level of completed foreclosure auctions activity in a neighborhood indicates distress in a local housing market.

Total Auction Activity

This is the total number of completed foreclosure auctions in a given year. In Cook County, data are broken out separately for total auction activity on single family homes, condominium units, two-to-four unit buildings, and in buildings with five or more units. Outside of Cook County, data are for all residential parcels.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 445 647 1,033 1,651 1,895 1,717 1,873 2,910 2,935 2,044 1,446 1,044 849 678 600 198 172 246 224


Share of Auctions Resulting in REO

This is the percent of completed foreclosure auctions in a given geography where there were no bidders and the property became bank-owned REO (real estate owned).


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 82.9% 92.6% 96.4% 97.8% 97.7% 96.5% 96.1% 92.7% 84.2% 85.1% 86.6% 76.6% 75.4% 74.9% 76.5% 73.7% 48.3% 72.0% 57.6%


REO per 100 Residential Parcels

This indicator allows users to compare the level of REO activity across geographies. This data point represents the total number of auctions resulting in REO status on all residential parcels divided by the total number of residential parcels in a given year, multiplied by 100.


Property Type 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
All Residential Properties 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.2 1.1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 -- 0.1 0.1


Population and Age

Reflects the composition of a community's population by age.

Population and Age

Reflects the composition of a community's population by age.


Indicator Value
Total Population 713,159
Share of Population Aged under 18 23.6%
Share of Population Aged 18 to 44 34.3%
Share of Population Aged 45 to 64 27.1%
Share of Population Aged over 65 15.0%


Race and Ethnicity

The composition of a community's population by respondent race and ethnicity.

Race and Ethnicity

The composition of a community's population by respondent race and ethnicity.


Indicator Value
Share of Population that is White 58.9%
Share of Population that is African American 6.5%
Share of Population that is Hispanic or Latino 22.8%
Share of Population that is Asian 8.4%
Share of Population that is Some Other Race 3.4%


Household Income

Represents the composition of households by income in a particular geography.

Household Income

Represents the composition of households by income in a particular geography.


Indicator Value
Total Households 254,794
Share of Households with Income Less than $25,000 10.3%
Share of Households with Income $25,000 to $50,000 13.0%
Share of Households with Income $50,000 to $100,000 24.7%
Share of Households with Income $100,000 or More 51.9%


Poverty Rate

Reflects the share of the population that is below a current poverty threshold.

Share of Population that is under the Poverty Level


Indicator Value
Share of Population that is under the Poverty Level 7.8%


Resident Tenure

The composition of households by tenure indicates the share of households that rent versus the share of households that own.

Total Households

Represents the composition of households by tenure.


Indicator Value
Total Households 254,794


Share of Households that are Owner-Occupied

The composition of households by tenure indicates the share of households that rent versus the share of households that own.


Indicator Value
Share of Households that are Owner-Occupied 73.8%


Share of Households that are Renter-Occupied

The composition of households by tenure indicates the share of households that rent versus the share of households that own.


Indicator Value
Share of Households that are Renter-Occupied 26.2%


Cost Burdened Households

A household is considered to be cost-burdened when more than 30 percent of its income is spent on mortgage, rent, or other housing needs.

Share of Owner-Occupied Households that are Cost-Burdened


Indicator Value
Share of Owner-Occupied Households that are Cost-Burdened 22.9%


Share of Renter-Occupied Households that are Cost-Burdened

A household is considered to be cost-burdened when more than 30 percent of its income is spent on mortgage, rent, or other housing needs.


Indicator Value
Share of Renter-Occupied Households that are Cost-Burdened 46.9%


Share of All Households that are Cost-Burdened


Indicator Value
Share of All Households that are Cost-Burdened 29.0%