Though located within a small geographical area, the village of Oak Park contains several distinct neighborhoods. Some regions of northern Oak Park, commonly defined as being north of Lake Street, are traditionally the richest region of the community, and contain such areas as the historical Frank Lloyd Wright District. Various mansions are found in northern Oak Park, especially along tree-lined Chicago Avenue and north Oak Park Avenue. The area between Lake Street and Madison Street, or the mid section of Oak Park, is home to various architectural styles and incomes, with 19th-century Victorian mansions located beside smaller homes of the post-World War 2 era. Southern Oak Park, south of Madison Street, contains homes and families of a more average income, with most of the homes less expensive than in the north. This is offset by the homes in the Seward Gunderson Historic District, which contains some of the first homes in the area from the 1900s. As a whole Oak Park can be characterized as both middle-upper and upper class.

Though there are several business districts within Oak Park, such as the Harrison Street Arts District along the I-290 expressway and Chicago Avenue at Harlem, downtown Oak Park is the main business district, bordered at the west by Harlem Avenue, at the east with Oak Park Avenue/Euclid Avenue, south by South Boulevard/Pleasant Street, and north by Ontario Street. However, due to high taxes, traffic issues etc., there is a growing vacancy rate within downtown Oak Park. Some of the independent, "mom-and-pop" stores have moved out, making room for brand-name chain stores such as Cold Stone Creamery and Starbucks. There has been a great deal of heated discussion and debate within the village as to the cause of these vacancies and the solution to ending this problem.