Communities · North Shore
Northfield Real Estate
A village of about 5,700 people between Winnetka and Glenview, with the Edens Expressway running through it and no Metra station of its own. Here's what housing costs, how the schools and the commute work, and where the market landed in 2025.
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Northfield was incorporated in 1926 under the name Wau-Bun. Its present name came from the station Samuel Insull's interurban railroad built at Willow Road in the 1920s, and residents later adopted it for the village. Most of today's village was built after the Second World War: the Edens Expressway arrived in the early 1950s and the village grew quickly through that decade.
The village borders Winnetka to the east, Wilmette to the south, Glenview to the west and Northbrook to the north. Its housing ranges from ranch-style and two-story houses to large houses on big lots, and its corporate campuses, including Medline's headquarters, sit along the expressway and Willow Road.
About seventy detached houses change hands in a typical year, and condominiums and townhouses make up about a third of sales. The snapshot below is the full 2025 closed record, not a sample.
2020 Census and 2020–2024 American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Average household income is the ACS mean.
The market in brief
What Northfield housing costs
Every closed sale of a house, condominium or townhouse recorded in Northfield in 2025. Mobile homes and vacant land excluded.
Source: MRED closed sales, January–December 2025. Current as of the 2025 year end.
With about seventy detached sales a year, a few large sales can move Northfield's averages, so the median is the better guide. Nearly half of the detached houses sold in 2025 were built in the 1950s and 1960s. For this month's prices, supply, showing activity and the age of homes selling now, and what they mean for buyers and sellers, use the market statistics page.
Northfield market statistics
Current price, inventory, months of supply and showings, with live MRED charts, a condominium and townhouse section, and a plain-language read of what changed.
See the Market StatisticsThe best time to sell in Northfield
249 Northfield houses that went under contract from 2023 to 2026, grouped by the season they were listed.
Read the StudySchools
District 29 through eighth grade, then New Trier
Most of Northfield is served by Sunset Ridge School District 29, which runs two schools: Middlefork School for kindergarten through third grade and Sunset Ridge School for grades four through eight. A small part of the village is assigned to neighboring elementary districts, so check the district for any specific address.
District 29 sends its graduates to New Trier Township High School District 203: first-year students attend the Northfield Campus, and grades 10–12 the Winnetka Campus. District-level results are on the Illinois Report Card for New Trier; District 29's own site is sunsetridge29.org.
For more detail: preschools in Northfield.
Northfield addresses are assigned to more than one school district; District 29 and New Trier serve many of them.
Confirm current school assignment for a specific address with the district before you buy.
Watching Northfield? Get Northfield Coming Soon alerts →
Getting to the city
The Northfield commute
Northfield has no Metra station of its own. Residents typically drive to a station in a neighboring town. To the east, Winnetka's stations are on the Union Pacific North line, where scheduled weekday trains from the Elm Street station reach Ogilvie Transportation Center in 37–42 minutes. To the west, Glenview's station is on the Milwaukee District North line, where scheduled weekday trains reach Chicago Union Station in about 34–44 minutes, depending on the train.
By car, the Edens Expressway (I-94) runs through the village, and downtown Chicago is about 17 to 20 miles away. Pace buses also serve Northfield.
Outside
A park district since 1957
The Northfield Park District runs the village's parks and playing fields.
The Northfield Park District was established in 1957. Its first project, Clarkson Park, sits near the village's small downtown. A renovation completed in 2021 added a splash pad, a new playground and a new bandshell.
Work and the village
Corporate campuses next to quiet streets
Northfield is mostly residential, but it is also home to several large employers. Medline moved its headquarters in 2017 into the Three Lakes Drive campus that had housed Kraft's corporate offices, and Stepan Company, a specialty-chemical manufacturer, lists its offices at Edens and Winnetka Road.
Library cards, programs and the collections of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District are open to Northfield residents.
Errands and dining
A small downtown, with larger ones nearby
Northfield's small downtown sits near Clarkson Park. For more shopping and dining, residents also use the downtowns of Winnetka, Glenview and Northbrook, each a short drive away.
See the Winnetka, Glenview and Northbrook community pages for what is nearby.
Tools and resources
Built for how people actually buy here
Six things worth using before you write an offer in Northfield.
Before it reaches the market
Coming Soon listings are marketed before their broader public-market launch, giving buyers an earlier opportunity to learn about a home. Buyers can express interest and make offers during this stage; whether a seller considers an offer before the broader launch is up to the seller. Compass Private Exclusives are not publicly marketed while they are offered as Private Exclusives; some later come to the open market. The two are different, and neither guarantees access to a particular home.
Search Coming Soon → How Private Exclusives work →Search by elementary school
Northfield addresses fall in more than one school district. Compare homes by elementary school across the North Shore before you fall for a house.
Search Now →Walk to train
Northfield has no station of its own. If walking to the train matters, see homes within genuine walking distance of North Shore stations, not "close-ish by car."
New construction guide
Finishes, builder reputations and which locations hold value on the North Shore, Northfield included.
View the Report →Market Ready Concierge
Compass's current program for financing pre-sale preparation, through Notable. Fees and interest apply and approval isn't guaranteed. We'll walk you through whether it fits.
The Insider's Guide
Our own guide to the North Shore: schools, commutes, taxes and what each town is actually like to live in. Free.
Get the Guide →Working with us
The 6-Point Strategic Buyer Program
What we actually do between "I like this house" and "here are the keys."
Pre-market access
We monitor multiple sources — including our professional networks, Top Agent Network, Compass Coming Soon and other permitted pre-market opportunities — so your search is not limited to active public listings.
Comprehensive value analysis
A detailed read on both comparable sales and current market conditions, so you know what a house is worth before you name a number.
Strategic negotiating
Lisa is a licensed attorney and former litigator. In multiple-offer situations, we focus on both price and the terms that can affect a seller's decision.
Extra intel
We vet every home and its location for flooding history, walkability, commuting and anything else that could affect your enjoyment or your resale. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but you'll go in informed.
Innovative techniques
When nothing on the market fits, we go looking. Handwritten notes to owners in the streets and buildings you want, and geographically targeted advertising to reach homeowners who are thinking about selling but haven't listed.
Local expertise
We live on the North Shore, drive these streets daily, sit on community boards and have children in local activities. That produces the kind of anecdotal knowledge that never makes it into a listing sheet — and it means we can preview homes quickly for busy or out-of-town buyers.
Thinking of selling
Four steps, in order
- Start with the online estimate — it shows recent closed prices for homes near yours.
- Then get a real price analysis — a strategic, complimentary read on your specific house, which is a different thing from an algorithm's guess.
- Look at whether Market Ready Concierge or a private launch helps — financing for pre-sale work (fees and interest apply), or testing the market before the clock starts.
- Then go to market — photography, staging and a launch timed to the week that suits your house, not the calendar.
New on the market
New Northfield listings added in the past 7 days
Residential listings added in the past 7 days · $100K–$20M · with photos
Listings courtesy of Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC (MRED) as distributed by MLS GRID. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Some listings have been excluded from this website. Full disclosures
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