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Diverse population at a suburban pace

A mix of older European-heritage families alongside a strong and growing Latino community, complemented by Filipino, Indian, and Eastern European populations.

Avon Township is home to around 60,000 people, with a demographic profile that has shifted considerably over the past two decades. The village of Round Lake Beach, the largest within the township, now has one of the highest proportions of Hispanic residents in Lake County, with a strong presence of Mexican families and, to a lesser extent, Salvadoran and Guatemalan ones.

Alongside this community are families of Polish, German, and Irish descent who arrived in the migration waves of the 20th century, along with more recent groups of Filipino, Indian, and Ukrainian origin drawn by more affordable housing prices compared to the North Shore. English and Spanish are heard daily in schools, stores, and churches.

The age profile is young by Illinois standards, with many families enrolling school-age children in the Round Lake Area Schools D116 district. Religious life centers on Catholic parishes such as St. Joseph in Round Lake and several Spanish-language evangelical churches.

Languages spoken
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Polish
  • Tagalog
  • Ukrainian
Main religions
  • Catholicism
  • Evangelical Protestantism
  • Latino Pentecostal churches
  • Lutheranism
  • No religion

More affordable than the North Shore, but with a heavy tax burden

Home prices are considerably lower than in nearby Chicago suburbs, but Illinois property taxes weigh heavily on any homeowner's monthly budget.

Avon Township ranks among the more affordable options in Lake County, with three-bedroom homes ranging around $250,000 to $320,000 in 2024, compared to nearly double that in Libertyville or Lake Forest. Renting a small house runs between $1,500 and $2,200, while two-bedroom apartments in complexes near Metra stations range from $1,400 to $1,800.

The biggest budget burden is property taxes. Illinois has one of the highest effective rates in the country, and in Lake County annual property tax bills of $6,000 to $9,000 on a $280,000 home are common. These funds support schools, local police, fire services, and township programs.

Grocery shopping is dominated by chains such as Jewel-Osco, Aldi, and Mariano's, with prices typical for the metropolitan area. Fuel, ComEd electricity, and employer-sponsored health insurance round out a cost of living that fits within a working middle-class household income.

96Cost index (US = 100)4% below US average
CategorySingleCoupleFamily (2 + 2)
iHousing$1,251$1,443$1,828
iFood$366$732$1,328
iTransport$481$818$1,058
iHealthcare$270$539$1,010
iChildcare$1,751
iOther$818$1,472$2,068
Monthly total$3,186$5,004$9,043

Source: U.S. BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2023 + BEA Regional Price Parities 2023 · Estimates in USD, monthly.

Suburban homes with a lake in the backyard

Two-story single-family homes on quiet streets predominate, with some townhouse options near Metra stations and the lakes.

Hainesville is the newest village and features planned developments from the 2000s with larger homes, two-car garages, and uniform architectural standards. Round Lake, the original historic village, blends older homes on tree-lined streets near the old downtown with newer subdivisions to the north.

Round Lake Beach has the largest supply of affordable properties, with neighborhoods like Lakewood Grove and areas near Cedar Lake Road offering smaller homes on compact lots. Round Lake Heights and Round Lake Park complete the picture with small residential villages that developed around the lake.

For rentals, townhouses in complexes such as Lakewood Grove or apartments near the Round Lake Metra station are common options. Homes with direct lake access are rare and expensive, typically sold as weekend retreats for Chicagoans.

Recommended neighborhoods
  • Hainesville
  • Round Lake (historic village)
  • Lakewood Grove
  • Round Lake Heights
  • Long Lake

Most residents commute; local opportunities in services and healthcare

Most residents work in Chicago, Libertyville, or Vernon Hills; locally, schools, retail chains, and health clinics dominate employment.

The economy of Avon Township is essentially residential in character. The main local employers are the Round Lake Area Schools D116 district, grocery chains such as Jewel-Osco and Mariano's, and clinics affiliated with larger hospitals in neighboring cities. Positions also exist in small auto shops, restaurants, and construction.

Those seeking higher wages commute by train to Chicago's Loop, work in the industrial parks of Vernon Hills and Mundelein, or find employment at hospitals such as Advocate Condell in Libertyville and Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest. Logistics and warehousing jobs along the Route 60 corridor are also reachable by car.

For newly arrived immigrants, initial opportunities often appear in construction, landscaping, cleaning services, and light manufacturing in the area. The College of Lake County in Grayslake offers vocational programs with grants available to Lake County residents, widely used as a pathway to skilled employment.

Dominant sectors
  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Retail and grocery
  • Construction
  • Logistics and warehousing
Major employers
  • Round Lake Area Schools D116
  • Jewel-Osco
  • Mariano's
  • Advocate Condell Medical Center (Libertyville)
  • Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital
  • +1 more

D116 in public schools and the College of Lake County nearby

Round Lake Area Schools D116 serves the township's children, and the College of Lake County in Grayslake offers accessible and bilingual higher education.

Families with young children fall under the Round Lake Area Community Unit School District 116, which operates several elementary schools, two middle schools, and Round Lake High School. The district offers robust bilingual programs in response to the strong Latino student population, with English as a Second Language available at every grade level.

Private alternatives include Catholic schools in Mundelein and Libertyville. For a more academically focused high school experience, some families seek transfers to Lake Forest High School or pay tuition at private schools such as Carmel Catholic in Mundelein.

At the post-secondary level, the College of Lake County in Grayslake is 15 minutes away by car and offers two-year programs, technical courses, and transfer agreements with Northern Illinois University, University of Illinois, and DePaul. Tuition for county residents is a fraction of the cost at four-year state universities.

Notable universities
  • College of Lake County (Grayslake)
  • Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, about 90 minutes away)
  • University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)
  • DePaul University (Chicago)
  • Lake Forest College (Lake Forest)

Nearby regional hospitals and local clinics

Avon Township has no hospital within its boundaries, but is served by regional referral facilities in Libertyville, Lake Forest, and Gurnee, all within 30 minutes.

The most widely used hospital among residents is Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, which offers an emergency room, maternity services, and oncology. Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, another regional referral center, is located in Lake Forest. For more complex pediatric cases, families travel to Lurie Children's in Chicago.

Outpatient care is available through Vista Health System clinics, Northwestern Medicine Immediate Care, and several private practices along Rollins Road. Community health resources such as the Lake County Health Department provide low-cost care, vaccinations, and women's health services for families without comprehensive insurance.

For undocumented immigrants, programs such as Erie HealthReach and Mano a Mano clinics offer basic consultations on a sliding-scale fee basis. Chain pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, and Jewel grocery stores cover ongoing medication needs, with seasonal flu and COVID vaccinations available.

Calm suburb with points of caution along commercial corridors

Lake County places Avon Township in an intermediate safety range; violent crime is rare and the main concerns are parking lot theft and hazardous winter driving.

Safety in Avon Township is typical of an American middle-class suburb. Violent crime is uncommon, with vehicle break-ins, vandalism, and domestic incidents appearing most frequently in local statistics. Hainesville and the village of Round Lake tend to have lower rates, while certain commercial stretches of Round Lake Beach account for most incidents.

The Round Lake Beach Police Department, Round Lake Park Police, and Lake County Sheriff cover the area with visible patrol presence. Schools are equipped with School Resource Officers (SROs) and drug education programs. At night, commercial areas along Rollins Road warrant the usual precautions regarding belongings left in vehicles.

The most practical risk is driving on routes IL-134 and US-12 during snowstorms and heavy rain. For newly arrived immigrants, local advice is to avoid driving in the first snowfall without appropriate tires and to always keep a shovel and blanket in the trunk.

Safer neighborhoods
  • Hainesville
  • Round Lake (historic village center)
  • Lakewood Grove
  • residential areas north of Rollins Road
Areas to avoid
  • isolated Rollins Road parking lots at night
  • commercial stretches near Cedar Lake Road after midnight

Metra to Chicago and highways to Wisconsin

Two Metra Milwaukee District North stations connect directly to Union Station in Chicago, and state routes IL-134, IL-83, and US-12 cross through the township.

Avon Township's primary transit asset is the Metra Milwaukee District North line, with stops at Round Lake and Long Lake. The trip to Union Station in Chicago takes about 90 minutes, serving those who work in the Loop. Free resident parking at the stations makes daily commuting practical.

By car, IL-134, IL-83, Rollins Road, and US-12 are the main arteries, connecting the township to Mundelein, Libertyville, and the Wisconsin border. Interstate 94 is about 20 minutes east by car, providing direct access to Milwaukee to the north and Chicago to the south.

Local Pace Suburban Bus routes are limited, so a car remains essential for most households. There is no commercial airport within the township; flights depart from Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway to the south, or Milwaukee Mitchell to the north.

Airports
  • ORD - Chicago O'Hare International (approximately 37 miles away)
  • MDW - Chicago Midway International (approximately 56 miles away)
  • MKE - Milwaukee Mitchell International (approximately 56 miles away)
  • UGN - Waukegan National (regional, approximately 16 miles away)

Neighborhood festivals, Chicago cuisine, and Latin influence

The cultural calendar blends civic events from the villages, Chicago-style cuisine, and Mexican celebrations brought by the Hispanic community.

Cultural life organizes around village events. Round Lake Beach Heritage Day, Hainesville Days, and the Round Lake Independence Day Parade bring families together each summer, with live music, food, children's games, and fireworks over the lake. In winter, Christmas markets in Long Grove and Libertyville are popular weekend destinations.

On the table, the repertoire draws from Chicago: deep-dish pizza from chains like Lou Malnati's, Italian beef at neighborhood lunch counters, Chicago-style hot dogs, and Polish pierogi at old-style delis. The strong Mexican presence ensures authentic taquerias along Rollins Road, with tacos al pastor and tortas served by families from Guanajuato and Michoacan.

In May and September, Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day celebrations fill parking lots with live music, food trucks, and informal parades. Local public libraries offer bilingual cultural programming, book clubs, and children's workshops throughout the year.

Notable dishes
  • Chicago-style deep-dish pizza
  • Italian beef sandwich
  • Chicago-style hot dog
  • Tacos al pastor (from Rollins Road taquerias)
  • Pierogi (Polish heritage)
  • +1 more
Annual events
  • Round Lake Beach Heritage Day
  • Hainesville Days
  • Round Lake Independence Day Parade
  • Cinco de Mayo on Rollins Road
  • Mexican Independence Day Festival in September

Lakes, trails, and museums within a short drive

The principal natural attraction is the Chain O'Lakes, a nearby system of navigable lakes, complemented by municipal parks, trails, and regional museums.

Round Lake and the surrounding lakes form the recreational heart of the township, with public boat ramps, bass and catfish fishing, and private marinas renting pontoon boats in summer. Chain O'Lakes State Park, a few minutes to the west, encompasses more than 2,700 acres of protected land with camping, trails, and canoe rentals.

For shorter outings, Lakefront Park in Round Lake Beach offers a playground, amphitheater, and lakeside walkway. The Volo Museum in Volo exhibits classic cars and movie memorabilia. Lambs Farm in Libertyville is a reliable outing with children, and Six Flags Great America in Gurnee is 25 minutes away by car.

For longer weekends, families drive to Milwaukee in just over an hour or head south to downtown Chicago for the Field Museum, Art Institute, and Lake Michigan parks. Lake Geneva in Wisconsin is a classic summer destination about 40 minutes away.

  1. 1Chain O'Lakes State Park
  2. 2Round Lake (lake)
  3. 3Lakefront Park (Round Lake Beach)
  4. 4Volo Museum
  5. 5Lambs Farm (Libertyville)
  6. 6Six Flags Great America (Gurnee)
Parks & green spaces
  • Chain O'Lakes State Park
  • Lakefront Park
  • Hart's Woods Forest Preserve
  • Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve (Grayslake)
  • Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center grounds

Strong Latino community and more recent waves from Asia and Eastern Europe

The Mexican community is the most visible, followed by historically rooted Polish families and more recent arrivals from the Philippines, India, and Ukraine drawn by housing costs.

The Latin American presence in Avon Township has become a structural part of local identity over the past 25 years. Mexican families, primarily from Guanajuato, Michoacan, and Jalisco, have opened taquerias, markets, car washes, and auto shops along Rollins Road. Small Salvadoran and Guatemalan communities have also established themselves, with their own restaurants and Spanish-language Pentecostal churches.

The Polish presence is older, a legacy of 20th-century migration waves, and still manifests in delis, homemade pierogi, and family names throughout the area. More recently, Filipino families from the northern Illinois diaspora, Indian families drawn by housing prices, and Ukrainian families who fled the war have also moved into neighborhoods in Hainesville and Round Lake.

Community life organizes around bilingual Catholic churches, ethnic markets such as El Mercado and Lindo Mexico, and nonprofits serving Lake County. Consulates for virtually all nationalities are located in Chicago, about an hour and a half by car or train.

12,000
Foreign-born residents
estimated
Top countries of origin
  • Mexico
  • Poland
  • Philippines
  • India
  • Ukraine
  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
Foreign consulates
  • Mexican Consulate General in Chicago
  • Polish Consulate General in Chicago
  • Philippine Consulate General in Chicago
  • Indian Consulate General in Chicago
  • Ukrainian Consulate General in Chicago
  • +2 more
Community organizations
  • Mano a Mano Family Resource Center (Round Lake)
  • Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago - Lake County
  • Lake County Health Department - immigrant services
  • YouthBuild Lake County
  • Polish American Association (regional)

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