Northbrook is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago in the greater North Shore, part of a collection of upscale residential communities north of Chicago. The population was 35,222 at the 2020 census. It is within Northfield Township, Illinois, bordering Lake County.
When incorporated in 1901, the village was known as Shermerville in honor of Frederick Schermer, who donated the land for its first train station. The village changed its name to Northbrook in 1923 as an effort to improve its public image. The name was chosen because the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River runs through the village.Hughes, Judith J. "Northbrook by Any Other Name Is Still the Same." Northbrook, Illinois: The Fabric of Our History. Ed. Gerry and Janet Souter. Northbrook Historical Society, 2000, p. 99
Glenbrook North High School, founded in 1953 as Glenbrook High School, is located in Northbrook. The village is also home to the Northbrook Park District, the Northbrook Court shopping mall, the Ed Rudolph Velodrome, the Chicago Curling Club, and the Northbrook Public Library.
History Members of the Potawatomi tribe were the earliest recorded residents of the Northbrook area. After signing the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, the Potawatomi ceded their Illinois lands and moved to a place near Council Bluffs, Iowa. Afterward, Joel Sterling Sherman moved from Connecticut with his family and bought of land in the northwest quarter of Section 10 for $1.25 per acre; Northbrook's downtown is located on this site. A German immigrant named Frederick Schermer donated a portion of the land he bought from Sherman to be used for the town's first railroad station, which was named after him. By the 1870s, Shermerville (which also took its name from Shermer) was a farming community. In 1901 the community was incorporated as the Village of Shermerville after a close referendum for incorporation. At the time of incorporation, it had 311 residents and 60 houses. In these early years, Shermerville became notorious for rowdy gatherings at its five saloons; by 1921, therefore, residents believed that the name "Shermerville" had a negative reputation and sought to change it. A renaming contest was held, and the name "Northbrook" was submitted by the US postmaster (and then President of the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association) Edward Landwehr. Landwehr was the son of Herman and Anna Helene Landwehr, both German immigrants and early settlers in the community and for whose family Landwehr Road in Northbrook is named. In 1923, "Northbrook", the winning name, was adopted. At the time, Northbrook had 500 residents. Later on, after the end of World War II, Northbrook's population began to rapidly increase."History of Northbrook" . Village of Northbrook. Retrieved on August 10, 2010 In 1997, President Bill Clinton visited Northbrook to congratulate the 8th-grade students of Northfield Township (which is mainly Northbrook) for getting the highest score on a world science test, and for getting the second-highest score on a world math test. Between 1950 and 1980, the town's population rose from 3,319 to 30,735. Northbrook was the first community not bordering Lake Michigan to filter Lake Michigan water for public use. Owing to the suburbanization of the community, the last working farm in Northbrook, the Wayside Farm, was sold and closed in 1987.
Geography
Northbrook is a suburb of the city of Chicago, located at (42.129226, −87.840715). in the extreme northeastern region of Illinois. Whilst the vast majority of the village lies within Northfield Township, its northwest corner is situated in Wheeling Township. Northbrook shares a border with Northfield to its southeast, Glenview and Prospect Heights to its southwest and south, Glencoe directly east, Highland Park to its northeast, Deerfield directly north, Riverwoods to its northwest, and Wheeling directly west. Techny, once a separate community, was annexed by Northbrook in 1989 and predominantly lies south of Voltz Road and stretches south to border Glenview. Interstate 294 curves along Northbrook's western edge while the Edens Spur marks most of the village's northern boundary. Illinois Route 68 stretches west from Wheeling into Northbrook, terminating at the Edens Expressway near Glencoe. In addition, a portion of Illinois Route 43 cuts through Northbrook.
According to the 2020 US gazetteer files, the village has a total area of , of which (or 99.55%) is land, and (or 0.45%) is water. Situated along the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River, Techny Prairie Park and Fields is the largest park in Northbrook at 113.82 acres and features picnic areas, a sled hill, batting cages, the nine-hole Anetsberger Golf Course and Techny Prairie Activity Center, a 44,200 square foot facility housing fitness equipment and studios, an indoor track, pickleball courts, and more. One of the biggest lakes in Northbrook, Lake Shermerville, is located within Wood Oaks Green Park, a 55.9 acre open space with fishing platforms, tennis courts, a playground, bike trail, and more. Northbrook lies within the Chicago/Calumet Rivers watershed.
Area codes From 1947 until 1988, Northbrook used a single area code, 312. However, in 1988, the 312 area code was made exclusive to Chicago and the 708 area code was introduced. Then, in 1996, the 708 area code was split into three: 708, 630, and 847. Currently, Northbrook uses the 847 area code as well as the 224 area code which was introduced in 2002.
Climate
Due to its proximity to the city, Northbrook's climate shares many of the same traits as Chicago. Northbrook lies in a humid continental climate zone (Köppen: Dfa) and experiences four distinct seasons. Northbrook receives an average of of precipitation each year. According to MyForecast, Northbrook's record high is 104 °F (40 °C), and the record low is -24 °F (-31.1 °C). Summers are hot and humid, with frequent heat waves. July is the hottest month, and the daily average temperature is 82 °F (27.7 °C), while the daily low temperatures are around 66 °F (18.8 °C). On average, summer temperatures reach at least 90 °F (32 °C) on as many as 16 days. Winters are relatively cold and snowy, with blizzards sometimes occurring, as in 2011. There are many sunny but cold days in winter. The average winter high from December through March is about 36 °F (2.2 °C), with January and February being the coldest months; a polar vortex occurred in January 2019. Spring and autumn are mild, short seasons. Dew point temperatures in the summer range from an average of 56 °F (13.3 °C) in June to 62 °F (16.7 °C) in July. Like all Chicago suburbs, Northbrook lies within USDA plant hardiness zone 5b.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Northbrook village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)29,34627,89226,99887.77%84.09%76.65%Black or African American alone (NH)1902012570.57%0.61%0.73%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)88160.02%0.02%0.05%Asian alone (NH)2,9523,8695,7468.83%11.66%16.31%Pacific Islander alone (NH)3420.01%0.01%0.01%Other race alone (NH)3025790.09%0.08%0.22%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2903439220.87%1.03%2.62%Hispanic or Latino (any race)6168281,2021.84%2.50%3.41%Total33,43533,17035,222100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Northbrook had a population of 35,222. The median age was 48.5 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 26.6% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males. The population density was .
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 13,324 households and 9,347 families in Northbrook, of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 65.3% were married-couple households, 9.9% had a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.7% had a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 14,209 housing units, of which 6.2% were vacant. The average housing unit density was . The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.5%.
Income and poverty According to the United States Census Bureau, the median household income in Northbrook was $150,236 in 2022.
Religion Northbrook is home to a diverse religious community including Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus.
The North Shore is known for having a significant Jewish population; Northbrook has eight synagogues, a K-8 Jewish Day School, a branch of JCC Chicago, and Hebrew language courses at its high school.
Besides Judaism, Protestantism and Catholicism are major religions in Northbrook. Northbrook has many churches, including the St. Nortbert Catholic Church, the Village Presbyterian Church of Northbrook, the Northbrook United Methodist Church, the St. Giles Episcopal Church, and the Northbrook Covenant Evangelical Church. There is also a small Eastern Orthodox community.
The Society of the Divine Word constructed Northbrook's Techny Towers in 1901 to house their North American headquarters and St. Joseph's Technical School, which operated for twelve years; Techny's name is derived from this school. St. Mary's Mission Seminary, the first of its kind which prepared priests and brothers for foreign missions, was opened by the Divine Word Missionaries in 1909.
The Islamic Cultural Center of Greater Chicago is a mosque located in Northbrook. Nearby, the Hanuman Mandir of Greater Chicago is in Glenview and the Bahá'í House of Worship is in Wilmette. Economy Northbrook has a workforce population of 27,058 people with 15,219 who are employed, according to a 2018 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. The village has over 3,000 businesses providing more than 45,000 jobs, surpassing its population by over 10,000 positions. Northbrook’s economy is centered around the service industry, primarily professional services, health care, administration, retail, and manufacturing. The village has over 2.4 million square feet of commercial space, 1 million of which is at Northbrook Court. The community’s largest employer at 8,000 personnel is Allstate, which is based in an unincorporated area of Northbrook."Contact Us." Allstate. Retrieved on August 9, 2010"Northbrook village, Illinois ." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 9, 2010 In 2021, the company announced it would sell the property. UL, a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, is headquartered in Northbrook and employs 2,000 workers. Bell Flavors & Fragrances and Crate & Barrel are also located in the village.
Additionally, Northbrook is a base for several multinational corporations including the North American headquarters of Astellas, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, and Italian-based Barilla, the largest pasta company in the world.
Approximately 13% of Northbrook workers are employed at businesses inside the city limits, while about 87% commute elsewhere. The majority of the city's employed residents (67%) commute to work in single-occupant vehicles, while 5 percent use carpools and 10 percent use public transportation. Northbrook workplaces have employees who live across Cook county, with 5 percent from within the village, 18.9% from Chicago, 2.4% from Glenview, and 2.2% from Arlington Heights and Wheeling.