The Best Neighborhoods in Des Plaines — The Underrated Town, Ranked

Des Plaines has 178 named communities and a reputation that undersells most of them. We pulled the sale data on all of it. Here's where we'd actually point you — the volume leaders, the upscale surprises nobody expects, and the deepest condo ladder in the corridor. (Still deciding on the town? Start with our honest answer.)

The volume leaders: where the market actually happens

Waycinden Park (eleven sales last year, median $465K) and Cumberland (ten sales, median $520K — with its own Metra stop, a luxury even Arlington Heights charges extra for) are the two liquid single-family markets in town. Plentiful comps, honest pricing, always something to tour. Cumberland Highlands ($378K median) is the value wing of the same corridor.

The upscale surprises

Nobody expects Des Plaines to have a $700K+ tier, and yet: Kylemore Green posted sales at $683K–$725K with a current $869K listing, and Ballard Acres recorded a $965,000 sale — the town's high-water mark. Executive space at O'Hare convenience, six figures under Park Ridge.

The character play

The Silk Stocking District is the showcase: historic foursquares and Victorians walking distance to the Metra, restored examples trading around $550K and project homes entering in the high $300s. Pair it with our downtown guide for the full walkable-vintage picture.

The dependable middle

Brentwood (median $500K), High Ridge Knolls ($460K), and Devonshire ($422K) carry the classic ranch-and-split heart of the city — the tier where Des Plaines beats every neighbor on price-per-family-house.

The condo ladder: deepest in the corridor

The Landings alone has twenty-one units listed ($185K–$385K, lakeside campus). Above it: Halston Market new-build townhomes (~$490K), Lexington Pointe ($495K median) and Buckingham Place ($455K). Below it, true entries most towns can't offer: Courtland Square ($185K median, six listed) and Holiday Lane (from the $130s). Every budget has a rung here.

The honest caveats

Three pieces of homework: the Maine East / Maine West boundary splits the city (both D207, but verify your address), some blocks sit under O'Hare flight paths (listen-test at different hours), and river-adjacent parcels can carry flood-zone insurance requirements. Twenty minutes of diligence; we do it for buyers daily.