Communities · North Shore
Kenilworth Real Estate
A small lakefront village between Wilmette and Winnetka, about 15 miles north of downtown Chicago, with one Metra station and one public elementary school. Here's what housing costs, how the schools and the commute work, and where the market landed in 2025.
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Kenilworth began in 1889, when Joseph Sears bought 223.6 acres between the railroad and Lake Michigan, and was incorporated as a village in 1896. It was laid out as a planned community: the streets were arranged to let in sunlight, utilities were placed underground, and alleys and fences were not permitted. Most street names come from places and characters in Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth.
The village is bordered by Winnetka to the north, Lake Michigan to the east and Wilmette to the south and west. It is almost entirely residential. Its few businesses sit along about three blocks of Green Bay Road and on Park Drive, so most errands, dining and shopping happen in Wilmette and Winnetka, a few minutes away.
It is the smallest market among the North Shore towns we cover: about fifty houses change hands in a typical year, and nearly every sale is a detached house. The snapshot below is the full 2025 closed record, not a sample.
2020 Census and 2020–2024 American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Average household income is the ACS mean.
The market in brief
What Kenilworth housing costs
Every closed home sale recorded in Kenilworth in 2025. Two vacant-land sales excluded.
Source: MRED closed sales, January–December 2025. Current as of the 2025 year end.
With only about fifty sales a year, two or three very large sales can move Kenilworth's averages, so the median is the better guide, and even the median can swing from year to year. Nearly three in four of the detached houses sold in 2025 were built before 1940. For this month's prices, supply, showing activity and the age of homes selling now, and what they mean for buyers and sellers, use the market statistics page.
Kenilworth market statistics
Current price, inventory, months of supply and showings, with live MRED charts and a plain-language read of what changed.
See the Market StatisticsThe best time to sell in Kenilworth
173 Kenilworth houses that went under contract from 2023 to 2026, grouped by the season they were listed.
Read the StudySchools
One school through eighth grade, then New Trier
Kenilworth is served by Kenilworth School District 38, which runs a single school, The Joseph Sears School on Abbotsford Road, from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Because the district has one school, there are no elementary attendance boundaries to sort through inside the village.
District 38 is a sender district to New Trier Township High School District 203: first-year students attend the Northfield Campus, and grades 10–12 the Winnetka Campus on Winnetka Avenue. District-level results are on the Illinois Report Card for District 38 and New Trier.
For more detail: preschools in Kenilworth and Wilmette.
In Kenilworth, every public-school student in the district attends the same pre-K–8 school.
Confirm current enrollment rules for a specific address with District 38 before you buy.
Getting to the city
The Kenilworth commute
Kenilworth's stone Metra station on Richmond Road is on the Union Pacific North line. Every scheduled train from Kenilworth reaches Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago in 38 minutes. On weekdays, 28 of the 35 inbound trains stop at Kenilworth; on Saturdays and Sundays, all 15 do.
The station has commuter parking and is served by a Pace bus route. By car, the Edens Expressway is a short drive west, and downtown Chicago is about 15 miles away.
Outside
A village beach and a Jens Jensen park
The village runs Kenilworth Beach; the Kenilworth Park District runs the parks.
Kenilworth Beach is run by the Village and is typically open and staffed from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. Season passes are sold to residents and, at higher rates, to non-residents. Boats, rafts and floats are not allowed within 300 feet of the beach. The beach has been under a phased construction project, so check the Village's beach page for the current season before you plan a visit.
The Park District's parks include Mahoney Park, a 3.12-acre wildflower and bird sanctuary designed by Jens Jensen with seven limestone council circles, as well as Centennial Park, Townley Field and several smaller parks and gardens.
Landmarks and history
A village club, a stone station and a historical society
The Kenilworth Club has served the village since 1891; its Assembly Hall, built in 1907, was designed by the architect George W. Maher, who also designed the limestone pillars that mark the Sheridan Road entrances to the village and the fountain. Franklin Burnham designed the Kenilworth train station and Kenilworth Union Church.
The Kenilworth Historical Society is in the Stuart Memorial Building on Kenilworth Avenue and is open Thursday and Friday, with other hours by arrangement. Library service for Kenilworth residents is provided by contract through the Wilmette Public Library and the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District.
Errands and dining
A small business district, with Wilmette and Winnetka next door
Kenilworth's handful of shops and services are along Green Bay Road and on Park Drive. For restaurants, groceries and most shopping, residents use the downtowns of Wilmette and Winnetka, both a short drive or bike ride away.
See the Wilmette and Winnetka community pages for what is nearby.
Tools and resources
Built for how people actually buy here
Six things worth using before you write an offer in Kenilworth.
Before it reaches the market
Coming Soon listings are marketed before their broader public-market launch, giving buyers an earlier opportunity to learn about a home. Buyers can express interest and make offers during this stage; whether a seller considers an offer before the broader launch is up to the seller. Compass Private Exclusives are not publicly marketed while they are offered as Private Exclusives; some later come to the open market. The two are different, and neither guarantees access to a particular home.
Search Coming Soon How Private Exclusives work →Search by elementary school
Kenilworth has one public pre-K–8 school. If you are weighing Kenilworth against nearby towns, compare homes by elementary school across the North Shore.
Search NowWalk to train
Homes within genuine walking distance of the Kenilworth Metra station, not "close-ish by car."
New construction guide
Finishes, builder reputations and which locations hold value on the North Shore, Kenilworth included.
View the ReportMarket Ready Concierge
Compass's current program for financing pre-sale preparation, through Notable. Fees and interest apply and approval isn't guaranteed. We'll walk you through whether it fits.
The Insider's Guide
Our own guide to the North Shore: schools, commutes, taxes and what each town is actually like to live in. Free.
Get the GuideWorking with us
The 6-Point Strategic Buyer Program
What we actually do between "I like this house" and "here are the keys."
Pre-market access
We monitor multiple sources — including our professional networks, Top Agent Network, Compass Coming Soon and other permitted pre-market opportunities — so your search is not limited to active public listings.
Comprehensive value analysis
A detailed read on both comparable sales and current market conditions, so you know what a house is worth before you name a number.
Strategic negotiating
Lisa is a licensed attorney and former litigator. In multiple-offer situations, we focus on both price and the terms that can affect a seller's decision.
Extra intel
We vet every home and its location for flooding history, walkability, commuting and anything else that could affect your enjoyment or your resale. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but you'll go in informed.
Innovative techniques
When nothing on the market fits, we go looking. Handwritten notes to owners in the streets and buildings you want, and geographically targeted advertising to reach homeowners who are thinking about selling but haven't listed.
Local expertise
We live on the North Shore, drive these streets daily, sit on community boards and have children in local activities. That produces the kind of anecdotal knowledge that never makes it into a listing sheet — and it means we can preview homes quickly for busy or out-of-town buyers.
Thinking of selling
Four steps, in order
- Start with the online estimate — it shows recent closed prices for homes near yours.
- Then get a real price analysis — a strategic, complimentary read on your specific house, which is a different thing from an algorithm's guess.
- Look at whether Market Ready Concierge or a private launch helps — financing for pre-sale work (fees and interest apply), or testing the market before the clock starts.
- Then go to market — photography, staging and a launch timed to the week that suits your house, not the calendar.
New on the market
New Kenilworth listings added in the past 7 days
No new listings in the past 7 days. Search all Kenilworth homes →
Residential listings added in the past 7 days · $100K–$20M · with photos
Listings courtesy of Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC (MRED) as distributed by MLS GRID. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Some listings have been excluded from this website. Full disclosures
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