Naperville, IL real estate

Living in Naperville

About Naperville

Naperville is a city in DuPage County with an official population of 150,692. The community is divided into 46 neighborhoods, featuring key local landmarks such as Naper Settlement and the Millennium Carillon.

Commutes from the city depend on car travel to regional destinations. A drive to Oak Brook covers 17.2 miles and takes 30 minutes. Driving to O'Hare International Airport requires a trip of 30.7 miles, which takes 56 minutes. Commuting into The Loop involves a 34-mile drive that takes 79 minutes.

The housing stock across the 46 neighborhoods suits buyers who prioritize driving access to Oak Brook. Other routes accommodate you if you make regular trips to O'Hare International Airport or The Loop. Turn to the market section below to inspect local home prices, property values, and active inventory.

Is Naperville a good place to live?

Naperville is a city of 150,692 people in 54,847 households, spread across 39.4 square miles of DuPage County, according to Census Bureau estimates.

Housing here leans newer than in many older suburbs. The median home was built in 1990, so much of the stock dates from the late twentieth century onward. The median home value is $540,200, which sets the starting point for most purchase budgets in town.

Renting is part of the picture too. The median rent is $1,885 a month, a figure you can set against a monthly mortgage payment when you compare the two paths.

Getting to work takes time to plan. The median commute is 30 minutes, so the distance from a house to a train station or a main road shapes daily travel.

The answer depends on what you need from housing, price, and travel. The figures set out the base for that decision before you start touring homes.

Naperville at a glance

The figures in the table come from the U.S. Census Bureau and give a quick read on Naperville, a city in DuPage County. They cover population, households, home values, rent, the age of the housing, and the typical commute, so you can see the town's scale and costs at a glance.

Homes and neighborhoods in Naperville

Naperville's neighborhoods sort fairly clearly by the decade their homes were built, and the grid beside this text lays out the mix for six of them. Reading it by era is the quickest way to know what you will be walking through.

Historic District is the oldest stock in the group. In and around it, 62% of homes were built in 1939 or earlier, while 14% date from the 2010s. Single-family detached homes make up 52% and multi-unit buildings 45%, so it is a mix of house types on older blocks.

Saybrook leans to mid-century, with 22% of homes from the 1950s and 17% from the 1960s. Cress Creek spreads across many decades, led by the 1970s at 24% and the 2000s at 16%. Single-family detached homes are 64% of its stock.

Ashbury is mostly a 1990s area, at 68%, and 78% of its homes are single-family detached. White Eagle runs newer, with 40% from the 2010s and 33% from the 1990s. West Highlands is mostly 2000s construction at 52%, and detached homes are 86% of the total.

Beyond these six, names you will see on listings include Ashwood Creek, Ashwood Park, Ashwood Pointe, Atwater, Breckenridge Estates, Brookwood Trace, Brush Hill, Carillon Club, Carriage Hills, Century Farms, Clow Creek Farm, and East Highlands. Across the whole city, 66.0% of homes were built from 1970 to 1999, which is why so many streets share a similar age.

The Naperville housing market

The Naperville market moved up over the 12 months in the Redfin series. The median sale price was $552,500 eleven months before the latest month and $659,686 in the latest month. That is a rise of 19.4%, so the same budget buys less house than it did at the start of the series.

Speed held steady while prices climbed. Median days on market went from 51 to 50, so homes still take close to seven weeks to sell. Sellers received 99.9% of list price in the latest month, up from 99.0% at the start, which means offers land very close to the asking figure.

Activity grew as well. Homes sold rose from 143 to 183, and new listings rose from 146 to 188, so more homes are both coming on and going under contract. For the month by month figures, read the full Naperville market report on this site.

Housing stock

Single-family detached homes represent 62.8% of the housing stock in Naperville. Multi-unit properties make up 24.7% of the total, single-family attached residences account for 12.2%, and manufactured housing comprises 0.4%.

You will find that most residential construction dates to the late twentieth century. Homes built between 1970 and 1999 account for 66.0% of the local inventory. Construction from 2000 through 2009 contributes 15.0%, while homes built in 2010 or later make up 8.0%. Older construction remains limited, as structures built from 1940 through 1969 account for 8.4%, and homes built before 1940 represent 2.5%.

Schools serving Naperville

Depending on your address, five unified public school districts serve students across Naperville. These include Naperville Community Unit District 203, Community Unit School District 200, and Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204. Plainfield School District 202 and Valley View Community Unit School District 365U also educate local students. Each of these five school districts provides instruction from prekindergarten through twelfth grade.

For higher education options close to home, you will find North Central College in Naperville.

Getting around

Public transit connections run through the Naperville station and the Route 59 station. Taking transit to The Loop takes 59 minutes across 29.3 miles. If you drive to The Loop, the 34-mile trip takes 79 minutes.

Driving to Oak Brook takes 30 minutes for a distance of 17.2 miles. The transit trip to Oak Brook covers 18.6 miles and takes 99 minutes. For flights, driving to O'Hare International Airport takes 56 minutes over 30.7 miles. Taking transit to O'Hare International Airport covers 47.5 miles and takes 108 minutes.

Things to do in Naperville

You can spend time outdoors across extensive parklands and riverfront paths in the area. The Naperville Riverwalk provides a waterfront path through town, while Centennial Beach offers an outdoor swimming and recreation destination. If you enjoy hiking or biking, the DuPage River Trail connects through natural corridors and joins nearby park acreage. Knoch Knolls Park and Springbrook Prairie preserve large open spaces with additional trail systems and recreational fields. You can also play rounds of golf at Springbrook Golf Course and Naperbrook Golf Course.

For shopping, you can visit retail centers distributed across the community. Springbrook Prairie Pavilion provides an assortment of retail shops and everyday services in one accessible location. If you attend cultural events, Wentz Concert Hall & Fine Arts Center hosts concerts, fine arts performances, and community gatherings. You can also spend time reading or researching at the Naperville Public Library, which maintains the Nichols Library facility.

Outdoor paths and cultural facilities give you convenient choices for daily recreation throughout the city. You can walk along the Naperville Riverwalk to reach waterfront views, or you can exercise along the DuPage River Trail. Preserves at Springbrook Prairie and Knoch Knolls Park accommodate walking, trail exploration, and open field recreation. Together with performances at Wentz Concert Hall & Fine Arts Center and retail at Springbrook Prairie Pavilion, activities remain close to home.

Working in Naperville

Endeavor Health Edward Hospital operates as a major employer within Naperville. The hospital represents a significant presence in the local healthcare sector. As part of the Endeavor Health system, the institution maintains medical operations directly inside the community. You can find employment opportunities at this hospital without leaving town. Having Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville allows healthcare professionals to live and work in the same area.

Pros and cons of living in Naperville

Pros. Naperville covers 39.4 square miles of DuPage County, and its median home was built in 1990, so much of the housing stock is relatively recent. Oak Brook is a 30 minute drive over 17.2 miles. The average commute from Naperville is 30 minutes. Inventory is growing, with new listings rising from 146 to 188 between 11 months before the latest month and the latest month. Homes sold rose from 143 to 183 over the same span, so the market is active.

Cons. Prices are climbing fast. The median sale price rose from $552,500 to $659,686 in the Redfin series, a 19.4% increase. The Census median home value of $540,200 sits below that recent sale price. The median rent is $1,885. The Loop is a 79 minute drive over 34 miles, and O'Hare International Airport is 56 minutes away by car. Homes still sit for about 50 days at the median, so a sale is not quick.

Sources: Redfin; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER.