DuPage County · Illinois
Hinsdale, IL
Historic estates, a 28-minute express to downtown Chicago, and one of Illinois' top-ranked public high schools — Hinsdale is a village built for the long term.
About the village
What makes Hinsdale, Hinsdale
Hinsdale sits about 17 miles west of downtown Chicago along the BNSF Railway, straddling DuPage and Cook counties. Platted in 1865 and incorporated in 1873, it grew up around the railroad as one of the country's earliest dedicated commuter suburbs (Village of Hinsdale).
The village is best known for three things: its nationally ranked Hinsdale Central High School (District 86), a remarkably intact historic district of more than 1,100 contributing buildings added to the National Register in 1976, and a walkable downtown wrapped around three Metra stations — Hinsdale, West Hinsdale, and Highlands — that put Chicago's Loop roughly 28 minutes away.
Add Katherine Legge Memorial Park, Fullersburg Woods and the historic Graue Mill, plus a housing market that consistently posts some of the highest median values in Illinois, and it's easy to see why families settle here for generations.
Recognition
Why Hinsdale stands out
Nationally recognized rankings that matter for families, professionals, and long-term investors.
Top 10
Public High School in Illinois
Hinsdale Central · U.S. News 2024
$1M+
Median Home Value
Among the highest in Illinois (ACS 2020-2024)
1,100+
Historic District Buildings
NRHP-listed since 1976
28 min
Express Metra to Chicago
Three BNSF stations in-village
By the numbers
Demographics & economy
Population
17,395
2020 Decennial Census · compact, low-density village
Hinsdale is a small village by population — a feature, not a bug. Roughly 4 square miles, 4,400 residents per square mile, and a strict residential-first character that has barely changed in a century.
Median household income
$250,001+
ACS 2020-2024 · top-coded by Census
Median home value
$1.0M+
ACS 2020-2024 · top-coded · among IL's highest
Bachelor's degree or higher
87.3%
Census QuickFacts · adults 25+
Owner-occupied homes
88.1%
Census QuickFacts
Median age
44.8
ACS 2020-2024
Hinsdale skews established-family; U.S. median is 39.0.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts · Census Reporter · CMAP.
Schools & parks
Education, parks and the Forest Preserve
Hinsdale Township HSD 86
District 86
Top 10
HS in IL
4,400+
Students
2
High schools
Hinsdale Township High School District 86 serves Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Burr Ridge, Willowbrook, Darien, Oak Brook, and parts of Westmont and Western Springs (hinsdale86.org, Niche).
Community Consolidated SD 181
District 181 (K–8)
3,800+
Students
9
Schools
K–8
Grades
Feeder district for District 86 — seven elementaries plus Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills middle schools. Consistently rated among Illinois' top elementary districts (d181.org, Niche).
High schools, ranked
U.S. News 2024 →
After graduation
Where Hinsdale grads go
~96% college-bound at Hinsdale Central (Illinois Report Card)
Hinsdale Central in particular sends large cohorts to Big Ten flagships and the most selective private universities. The recurring top destinations on the school's senior-survey reports (hc.hinsdale86.org):
Photo gallery
A walk around the village
Hinsdale Historic District
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1976) with over 1,100 contributing buildings — one of Illinois' largest historic districts.
Visit site →
Burlington Park
The village's original 1873 town green with a Victorian gazebo, summer concerts, and the seasonal Farmers Market.
Visit site →
Katherine Legge Memorial Park
52-acre estate park gifted in 1973, with a 1903 lodge, oak woodlands, pollinator meadow and weekly summer concerts.
Visit site →
Fullersburg Woods & Graue Mill
DuPage forest preserve home to the 1852 Graue Mill — a working water mill and documented Underground Railroad stop.
Visit site →
Downtown Hinsdale
Walkable village core around the BNSF Metra station — independent boutiques, cafés, and brick storefronts dating to the 1890s.
Visit site →
Robert Stuart Park
East-side neighborhood park with tennis, baseball diamonds, playgrounds and a beloved sled hill.
Visit site →
Photography is illustrative. For visitor information, please follow the linked official sites.
Location
Where Hinsdale sits on the map
Hinsdale, IL — District 86 public high schools
- Hinsdale Central High SchoolDistrict 86 · 5500 S Grant St, Hinsdale, IL 6052141.7905° N, 87.9214° W
- Hinsdale South High SchoolDistrict 86 · 7401 S Clarendon Hills Rd, Darien, IL 6056141.7324° N, 87.9586° W
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Stylized village outline with the two District 86 public high schools pinned. Coordinates approximate; for turn-by-turn directions, view in OpenStreetMap.
Climate
A comfortable four-season welcome
Hinsdale enjoys a classic Midwest climate that feels genuinely welcoming year round. Summers are warm and sunny — ideal for evening walks through Burlington Park or a swim at the Hinsdale Community Pool. Autumns arrive crisp and bright, lighting up the village's famous tree canopy in gold and crimson. Winters bring a manageable, picturesque layer of snow that turns downtown into a Christmas-card scene, and springs are gentle and refreshingly green. Rainfall is reliable year-round and extremes are rare, so the weather invites you outside rather than keeping you in.
84°
Summer High
17°
Winter Low
39"
Annual Rain
35"
Annual Snow
Temperature (°F)
Precipitation (inches)
Approximated from NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 Climate Normals at DuPage Airport (KDPA), the nearest official station to Hinsdale (NOAA NCEI). Annual total: ~39 in of rain and ~35 in of snow.
Year-round
A village for all four seasons
Spring
Magnolias and crabapples explode across the historic district, KLM Park's pollinator meadow returns, and the Hinsdale Farmers Market opens for the season on Monday nights at Burlington Park.
Summer
The Hinsdale Community Pool fills up, Uniquely Thursdays brings live music to downtown, and KLM Park hosts the village's biggest summer concert series under the lodge oaks.
Fall
Hinsdale's tree canopy is one of the most photographed in Illinois. Friday-night football under the Hinsdale Central lights, the Hinsdale Humane Society Walk for Animals, and the Holiday Walk kickoff define the season.
Winter
The Hinsdale Christmas Walk, tree lighting at the Memorial Building, and twinkling brick storefronts make downtown a postcard. KLM Lodge hosts winter weddings and Fullersburg's nature center stays open for snowshoe tracking.
Culture
Libraries, museums & historic places
Hinsdale Public Library
Carnegie-rooted village library with a renovated children's wing and active local-history archive.
Hinsdale Historical Society — Immanuel Hall
Restored 1862 Greek Revival church serving as the society's museum and program space.
Hinsdale Center for the Arts
Independent arts nonprofit offering classes, exhibits and the popular Holiday Walk Art Fair.
Robert Crown Center for Health Education
Internationally recognized health-education museum founded in Hinsdale in 1958.
The Community House
Hinsdale's century-old hub for youth theatre, classes, and Walker's Charcoal Room.
Graue Mill & Museum
Operating 1852 water mill and Underground Railroad museum at Fullersburg Woods.
Getting around
Roads, Metra & commuting
Express service to Chicago Union Station in roughly 28 minutes; the most-used of the village's three stops.
Metra BNSF — West Hinsdale Station
Walk-up station serving the west side of the village.
Metra BNSF — Highlands Station
Northeast-corner stop serving The Highlands neighborhood.
I-294 (Tri-State Tollway)
Eastern edge — direct access to O'Hare in ~25 minutes and Midway in ~20.
I-55 (Stevenson Expressway)
Just south — southwest access toward Joliet and downstate Illinois.
Ogden Avenue (US 34) & 55th Street
Primary east-west arterials threading the village to neighboring Oak Brook, Western Springs and Clarendon Hills.
Dining
Restaurants, bars & local favorites
Page's Restaurant
American · since 1932
Vistro Prime
Steakhouse · fine dining
Il Poggiolo
Italian · Tuscan
Nabuki
Sushi · Japanese
Egg Harbor Cafe
Breakfast · brunch
Fuller House
Gastropub · brunch
Altamura Pizza
Neapolitan pizza
Toni Patisserie & Café
French bakery · café
See more on the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce directory.
Economy
Major employers & institutions
AdventHealth Hinsdale Hospital
300+ bed regional hospital, founded 1904
Hinsdale Township High School District 86
~4,400 students · two high schools
Community Consolidated School District 181
~3,800 K–8 students across nine schools
Village of Hinsdale
Municipal government & services
Hinsdale Bank & Trust (Wintrust)
Community bank headquarters
Robert Crown Center for Health Education
National health-education nonprofit
The Community House
Century-old community programs nonprofit
Numerous boutique financial & professional firms
Wealth management, law, medical practices
Source: Village of Hinsdale · Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce.
What's new
Real-estate developments to watch
Downtown streetscape & rail-corridor improvements
Multi-phase village investment in pedestrian lighting, bricked crosswalks and station-area placemaking along the BNSF corridor.
Hinsdale Middle School (opened 2019)
$65M replacement school in the village center — a major District 181 capital project that anchored re-investment around the Memorial Building.
Teardown-to-new-construction market
Hinsdale's housing stock continues to turn over: roughly 40-60 teardown permits per year on average, replaced by custom single-family homes.
Oak Brook & Clarendon Hills crossover demand
Steady spillover demand from neighboring Oak Brook (offices, no high school) and Clarendon Hills (smaller lots) keeps Hinsdale's Central HS catchment in high demand.
Just for fun
Hinsdale fun facts
- ★Hinsdale was platted in 1865 by William Robbins and incorporated in 1873; it was originally part of an area known as Brush Hill.
- ★The village is named for H.W. Hinsdale, a director of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad — the same line BNSF Metra still runs today.
- ★The Hinsdale Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and includes over 1,100 contributing buildings.
- ★Katherine Legge Memorial Park was donated to the village in 1973 by Alexander Legge, former president of International Harvester, in memory of his wife.
- ★Graue Mill at Fullersburg Woods is a working 1852 grist mill and one of the few documented Underground Railroad stations in Illinois.
- ★AdventHealth Hinsdale Hospital traces its founding to 1904, when it began as a Seventh-day Adventist sanitarium.
- ★Hinsdale Central High School consistently ranks among the top 10 public high schools in Illinois (U.S. News).
Considering Hinsdale?
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