Skokie

Skokie is one of the few suburbs anywhere with its own CTA line: the Yellow Line — the Skokie Swift — runs from Dempster-Skokie and Oakton-Skokie to the Howard transfer station, connecting the village to the Red and Purple Lines and the city beyond. Combined with the Edens Expressway running through town, it makes Skokie one of the better-connected north suburbs.

The institutions are serious. The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is one of the largest of its kind in the world and a destination for visitors from across the country; the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts hosts theater and music year-round; and the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park stretches for two miles along the canal with more than 60 large-scale works — one of the region's most unusual public art collections. Westfield Old Orchard, the open-air shopping center, anchors the retail side at a regional scale.

Housing is a mid-century showcase: ranches, split-levels, and georgians built in the postwar decades dominate the blocks, joined by newer construction, townhomes, and condo buildings, particularly near downtown Skokie's Oakton Street corridor. Lots are full-size, and the village's services and park district have strong reputations.

Daily life runs mostly on a car, but the Yellow Line, the Oakton corridor, and the village's compact layout keep more within reach than in most suburbs this size.

Skokie offers major institutions, CTA access, and one of the deepest mid-century housing inventories in the north suburbs.

Skokie FAQ

Do you need a car in Skokie?

Most households keep one, but the Yellow Line connects to the CTA system at Howard, and downtown Skokie's Oakton corridor is walkable. The Edens makes driving commutes direct.

What types of homes are in Skokie?

Mid-century ranches, split-levels, and georgians above all, plus newer construction, townhomes, and condos near the downtown corridor.

What is Skokie known for?

The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, the Yellow Line "Skokie Swift," Westfield Old Orchard, the Northshore Sculpture Park, and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts.

Skokie vs. Evanston: what's the difference?

They're neighbors. Evanston sits on the lakefront with Northwestern, a larger downtown, and older housing stock; Skokie is inland with Old Orchard, the Yellow Line, and a predominantly mid-century housing inventory on full suburban lots.