Sunset Ridge Sd 29, IL - District Data

Original Research by School Decision on Sunset Ridge Sd 29

Sunset Ridge School District 29 serves the town of Northfield in Cook County as a PreK-8 district with a small enrollment of roughly five hundred students spread across three schools: Middlefork Primary, serving kindergarten through third grade; Sunset Ridge Elementary, serving grades 4-8; and Northfield Community Nursery. The district's student body is predominantly white, with Asian students and multiracial students each representing a modest share. Free and reduced-price lunch rates and counts of students with IEPs or English learner status were not reported, so a parent may want to ask the district directly about the economic diversity of the population and support services available.

On state assessments administered in spring 2025, the district's students demonstrated strong performance across the tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, proficiency ran consistently high across grades 3-8, ranging from the low eighties to low nineties. Fourth-grade students performed particularly well, with roughly nine in ten meeting the state standard. Math proficiency held steady in a similar band, with seventh graders performing at the highest level in the district. Science results, available only for grades 5 and 8, showed solider performance in eighth grade (over four in five students proficient) than in fifth grade, where about seven in ten met the standard. Overall, the district's proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Cook County's districts. Chronic absenteeism sits well below the county median, another sign of strong engagement.

The three schools serve distinct grade spans, and only Middlefork and Sunset Ridge appear in enrollment data; the nursery school is a separate operation. Middlefork, the K-3 building, is aging and has been the subject of recent major change in the district. In March 2026, voters approved a substantial bond referendum to overhaul the facility, which is now several decades old. The bond will fund significant improvements to bring the building to the standard of the newer Sunset Ridge School. The downside for families is fiscal: the annual property tax impact is meaningful, and the district's tax rate has risen from the lowest to the second highest among the six school districts that feed into New Trier High School. For parents weighing a move to Northfield, this means both the benefit of a planned capital refresh for the youngest grades and the reality of a durable, noticeable increase in school property taxes.

Housing in the Northfield area is relatively expensive, with a weighted home value in the mid to upper range for suburban Cook County. Rental costs are also high, and the mortgage-to-income burden is steep for a household buying on median income. The Northfield real estate market is neither particularly hot nor stalled; inventory and buyer demand are each measured as moderate.

The district's per-pupil spending is in the upper range for the county, consistent with both its strong academic outcomes and its role as a small, relatively affluent community school system. State assessment data from spring 2025 is current and complete across tested subjects and grades.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

494

Grades

PK–08

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 4%

Black 1%

White 81%

Asian 8%

Two+ 6%

Schools in this District

3 schools are officially reported under this district.

Middlefork Primary School

Sunset Ridge Elem School

Northfield Community Nursery Sch

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

6 grades reported

81%

Grade 3

83%

Grade 4

80%

Grade 5

80%

Grade 6

88%

Grade 7

78%

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

81%

Grade 3

92%

Grade 4

86%

Grade 5

92%

Grade 6

82%

Grade 7

89%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

70%

Grade 5

83%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$1.35M

Year-over-year change+11.5%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$702K to $1.5M

vs. state typical4.63x

vs. national typical3.65x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
60093	Winnetka	$1.5M	+12.4%	78.7%
60062	Northbrook	$702K	+8.4%	21.3%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$2,286/mo

Year-over-year change+9.1%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$2,179 to $2,680/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
60093	Winnetka	$2,179	—	78.7%
60062	Northbrook	$2,680	+9.1%	21.3%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$6,787/mo

Home price / national median income16.1x

Annual rent / national median income32.8%

Est. mortgage exceeds rent by$4,501/mo

Market Activity: Cook County

Median listing price$349,900

Median listing price YoY+1.4%

Median price per sq ft$235

Median days on market35.5 days

Median days on market YoY+7.6%

Active listings6,653

Active listings YoY-16.6%

New listings4,792

New listings YoY-15.3%

Pending listings6,887

Pending listings YoY-3.4%

Hotness: median listing price$332,000

Hotness: median listing price YoY-0.9%

Supply score87.3

Supply score YoY-0.1%

Demand score39.6

Demand score YoY+4.9%

Median listing price (12 months)

Median price per sq ft (12 months)

Median days on market (12 months)

Active listings (12 months)

New listings (12 months)

Pending listings (12 months)

Hotness: median listing price (12 months)

Supply score (12 months)

Demand score (12 months)

Comparison

State typical home value$290,210 (+4.9% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.