How do you know what schools are the most in demand in an area? Well, one way you can find out is by checking out how much the houses nearby go by. Sure, it’s a little conflated with other maters (is the location desirable? Are there other factors nearby that are pushing up the prices). Still, it’s a pretty honest measure of where people want to live. And schools will often have something to do with that.

So, with that in mind, we’ve used the results from Realtor.com to rank the house prices of the different areas in Lake Country. We’ve also included some other statistics, which you can then use to drill down further and form your own judgement.

1. Lake Forest SD 67

Their website says, “Educating Without Boundaries... Learning Without Limits.” And that’s true, as long as you don’t see limited financials as a boundary. The average price of a house in this area is an impressive $1,275,000. That’s not the kind of small change you’re going to find lying around in cracks of your couch unless the sofa fairy has recently paid you a visit.

It isn’t just there that Lake Forest stands out. The average school rating is 10. This shows in how much the area spends on students. The operational spending of the place are at nearly 17 thousand dollars, while the instructional spending amount to almost 10k.

There are five schools to choose from.

2. Lake Forest CHSD 115

For those who can’t quite handle those kinds of prices (but almost can) there’s Lake Forest’s district 115. Here houses will only put you back a cool million. And how do the schools suffer in response? They sink to a 9.7 rating.

Some numbers, in fact, go up. They spend a little over 23 thousand on operational spending per student, while their instructional spending is also higher at 13,000 dollars. There is only one school in this area, but it’s a big one with about 1700 students.

3. Lake Bluff ESD 65

Another 250-thousand-dollar step down is Lake Bluff. Here the average school rating is still a solid 9.3, while the school spends about 19k on operational spending per student and about 10,000 dollars on instructional spending.

There are two schools in this area. They’re not that big, with a combined student body of just under 900 students.

4. North Shore SD 112

Alternatively, you could choose for North Shore, which is only about 30k cheaper than Lake Bluff. Here you’re paying about 700k for a house. This is also the first time a school district we’ve mentioned falls under the haloed ‘9’ in the school rating. Not by much, though. Here the rating goes in at 8.8.

That drop is not because of school spending. The operational spending comes in at just over 16 thousand, while the instructional spending comes in at just over 10k.

A thing to note is that there are a lot of schools to choose from here. There are 11 in total with a total of 4.3k students in total. That means you’ve got actually shop around a little bit, as some are definitely better than others. Applications, we hear, can also be tough. So make sure you check out writing service reviews so that can get the best help out there to get your paperwork in order.

5. Highland park, School District 113

The price of house in Highland Park is pretty much exactly the same as those of North Shore. What is significantly higher than North Shore is the per-student-spending. Here they’re putting up nearly 25k per student in terms of operational spending and 13.5 thousand for instructional spendings.

It helps. The region’s average school rating has nudged just back into the nines territory. There are only 2 schools here. They’re both big with a total of nearly four thousands students getting an education in this area.

6. Barrington CUSD 220

And then there’s Barrington where a house will put you back about half of what Lake Forest did. Here you’re paying about 630 thousand for a house. The average school rating has once again not suffered. In fact, it has risen again. Barrington’s schools come in at a school rating of 9.5

What about the operational spending and the instructional spending? They’re at 16k and 10k respectively. There are 12 schools here who together house about nine thousand students.

Last words

As you can see there is a lot of variability among the different districts. What you should not assume is that just because you’re paying more your kids are going to get a better education. There are a lot more factors at play than that.

Each of these districts seems to have some outstanding school. Which one will work best for your children? That’s something that is going to depend on a lot of things. Do they prefer big schools or little ones? Do they need a lot of attention or can they manage on their own? What can you actually afford to pay without throwing yourself so deep into debt that you become one of those stressed out parental sets from horror stories that end up damaging their children’s lives?

All of these factors play a role. So think carefully and shop around. For where you want to live is not a decision you want to make lightly.