Oak Park is a larger medium-sized village located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 52,947 people and 14 associated neighborhoods, Oak Park is the 26th largest community in Illinois. Oak Park has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic villages in the country.

Oak Park home prices are not only among the most expensive in Illinois, but Oak Park real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Oak Park has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Of important note, Oak Park is also a village of artists. Oak Park has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Oak Park’s character.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 27.66% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

One thing that you will notice about Oak Park is that there is a good-sized population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. Many singles consider Oak Park a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.

One downside of living in Oak Park, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 33.36 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly village. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

Like elsewhere in America, most people in Oak Park use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Oak Park‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the subway. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.

If knowledge is power, Oak Park is a pretty powerful place. 72.48% of the adults in Oak Park have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Oak Park in 2022 was $69,420, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $277,680 for a family of four.

Oak Park is an extremely ethnically-diverse village. The people who call Oak Park home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Oak Park residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Oak Park include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Oak Park is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.