Short answer: yes — Des Plaines is the tried-and-true town of the corridor, and quietly one of its best values. Long answer below, including the trade-offs, from a team that's sold here for 26 years.
The case for Des Plaines
Price, with a Metra station attached. This is the most affordable UP-NW-line town in the inner corridor: solid houses mostly $300K–$550K, a deep condo market from the $140s, and standouts like Waycinden Park — eleven sales last year around $465K — delivering real family homes at real-family prices.
An actual downtown with actual character. The Metra stops in the middle of it, the Silk Stocking District's historic homes sit a few blocks away, the Choo Choo restaurant still delivers lunch by model train, and the first McDonald's franchise once stood here. New townhomes like Halston Market are betting on this downtown's next chapter.
Location leverage. O'Hare is next door, Rosemont's entertainment district and Rivers Casino are minutes away, and I-90/I-294 put the whole region in reach. For commuters and travel-heavy careers, few towns work harder.
Schools feed Maine Township. Local districts including CCSD 62 flow into Maine Township D207 — Maine West for most of town — with strong career and dual-credit programs.
The honest trade-offs
O'Hare proximity cuts both ways — some blocks sit under flight paths, so do the listen-test before you offer. Parts of town near the Des Plaines River carry flood-zone designations (insurance, not necessarily water — but check the map). And the housing stock skews older; buyers wanting turnkey-new should look at Halston Market or budget for updates.
Who Des Plaines fits
First-time buyers who want a house and a train. Frequent flyers. Value hunters priced out of Park Ridge and Mount Prospect who won't give up the Maine-township school pipeline. And condo buyers — The Landings alone has twenty-one units to choose from right now.
Verdict: yes — the corridor's steadiest value
We'll map the flight paths, flood zones and best blocks for your budget in one conversation.