Buffalo Grove, Illinois


Buffalo Grove is a village in Lake and Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, within the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
As of the 2010 census, the village population was 41,496. Most of the village is located within the 10th Congressional District of Illinois, although the southern portion is represented in the 8th Congressional District.

Geography

Buffalo Grove is located at , among the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Illinois Route 83 leads north towards central Lake County and south towards O'Hare International Airport. East-west streets can take residents east to Lake Michigan and other North Shore suburbs such as Lake Forest, Highland Park, and Glencoe.
Buffalo Grove is about northwest of the Chicago Loop.
Buffalo Grove is split along Lake Cook Road into two parts: the Lake County Vernon Township portion; and the Cook County Wheeling Township portion. Around three-quarters of the village is in Vernon Township. Both portions differ in their demographics and similarities with neighboring communities. Buffalo Grove shares a border with Wheeling to its southeast, Arlington Heights to its southwest and south, Riverwoods and Deerfield directly east, Lincolnshire to its northeast, Vernon Hills directly north, and Long Grove to its west and northwest. Unincorporated Prairie View is located in two different parts around the village. First, there is the larger and historic portion which is towards the north and includes Didier Farms. Then, there is the second, much smaller portion which is centered on the Horatio Gardens subdivision just northeast of the intersection of Weiland Road and Pauline Avenue.
According to the 2010 census, the village has a total area of, of which is land and is water. According to the village's land use data, single-family homes make up 43.9% of village land, 9.2% for single-family attached homes, 4.2% for multi family homes, 4.8% for commercial purposes, 2.4% for office, 10.8% for industrial, 3.5% is public property, 6.1% is right-of-way/utility, and only 1.4% remains vacant. A modest 13.8% is for parks and open space; there are 50 parks throughout the village and of bike paths/sidewalks. The Mike Rylko Community Park, located northwest of the intersection of McHenry Road and Buffalo Grove Road, is the largest park in the village with an estimated. The village also manages a small portion of the Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve which primarily is located in Long Grove. The forest preserve has a total of and located north of the intersection of Lake-Cook Road and Arlington Heights Road.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, a total 41,496 people, 15,708 households, and 11,655 families were residing in the village. The population density was 4,666.9 people per square mile. There were 16,166 housing units at an average density of 1,758.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 79.82% White, 1.00% African American, 0.16% Native American, 15.99% Asian, 0.0434% Pacific Islander, 1.41% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.92% of the population. Like in many of the nearby North Shore Suburbs, there is a large Jewish population in Buffalo Grove. 3.4% of the total population of Buffalo Grove were born in Ukraine.
Out of 15,708 households, 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.0% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the village, the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the village was US$83,545, and the median income for a family was $101,336. Males had a median income of $63,107 versus $41,039 for females. The per capita income for the village was $49,794. 3.3% of the population and 1.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 2.6% were under the age of 18 and 2.2% were 65 or older.
In 2011, 16.0% of Buffalo Grove's residents were Asian, making it the Chicago suburb with the seventh highest percentage of Asians.

Libraries

Buffalo Grove as well as a small portion of Lake County Buffalo Grove is served by the Indian Trails Public Library District located in Wheeling south of the intersection of Dundee Road and Schoenbeck Road. Vernon Township Buffalo Grove is served by the Vernon Area Public Library District located in Lincolnshire just north of the intersection of Half Day Road and Olde Half Day Road.

Attractions

The Raupp Museum, operated by the Buffalo Grove Park District, is the town's museum of local history. Saint Mary's Church, completed 1899, is the oldest building in the village. Lou Malnatis Pizzeria is housed in the second oldest building in the village. Located around the same downtown area, there is the Buffalo Grove Town Center, which is a major shopping and retail destination within the village, at the Buffalo Grove Road and McHenry Road intersections with Lake-Cook Road, being anchored by the Buffalo Grove Theaters and by Bowlero: a bowling/arcade/laser-tag venue that hosts birthday parties.
During the summer, Buffalo Grove hosts two festivals. The Buffalo Grove Invitational Fine Arts Festival is held in Buffalo Grove Town Center in mid-July, with over 30,000 visitors attending on average. In September, Buffalo Grove hosts the multi-day Buffalo Grove Days festival around the intersection of Deerfield Road and McHenry Road. The festival is mostly home to carnival games, roller coaster rides, arts and craft booths, food vendors, and live music. There is a parade held at the beginning of the festival and fireworks on the Saturday night. The festival usually attracts not just Buffalo Grove residents, but also residents from the neighboring communities. Throughout the summer Buffalo Grove hosts a Farmer's Market at the Spray and Play Pool on McHenry Road west of the intersection of Buffalo Grove Road.
In 2014, the Buffalo Grove Park District opened the Community Arts Center, which houses a theatre space and classrooms. The theatre is used by the Park District's local theatre company, Big Deal Productions.
On June 2, 2019, Buffalo Grove held its first inaugural gay pride parade.

Transportation

One of the major transportation issues in Buffalo Grove is the Illinois Route 53 Extension, a proposed transportation project in Lake County that began back in the 1960s. Illinois Route 53 currently ends at Lake Cook Road in Buffalo Grove. The project would build a extension of IL 53 to IL 120 in Grayslake. As of July 2019, both the Lake County Board and the Illinois Tollway have rescinded all support from the Route 53 extension project.
Buffalo Grove relies on multiple arterial roads. Going north-south, the village uses Milwaukee Avenue on the east, Buffalo Grove Road and Weiland Road down the center, and Arlington Heights Road on the west. Going east-west, the village uses Dundee Road to its south, Lake-Cook Road and Deerfield Parkway towards the center, and both Aptakisic and Half Day Road to its north. McHenry Road acts as a diagonal road in the village, going north-south in some portions, but east-west in others.
Since 1996, Buffalo Grove has had a station on Metra's North Central Service, which provides daily rail service between Antioch and Chicago. The train station is located just east of the intersection of Weiland Road and Deerfield Parkway. North of the intersection of Half Day Road and Prairie Road is the station for Prairie View, also used by many residents. The North Central Service runs primarily during rush hour and does not run on the weekends, so many Buffalo Grove residents use the Arlington Heights Metra Station, the Deerfield Metra Station, or the Lake Cook Road Metra Station also in Deerfield.

Notable people