Braceville · Grundy County · IL
Homes for sale in
Braceville.
- Active listings
- 1
- Median list
- $400K
- Avg time on market
- 3 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Active listings
1 home on the market
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About the community
Living in Braceville.
Braceville is a small village of roughly 720 residents straddling the Grundy and Will county line in northeastern Illinois, less than 100 miles southwest of Chicago. Founded in 1834 as Sulphur Springs and renamed in 1848, it sits along the historic Route 66 corridor that is now Illinois Route 53. The village offers a quiet, affordable, family-oriented lifestyle with a median home value well below state and national figures. Surrounded by the Braidwood, Gardner, and Godley communities, Braceville gives residents quick access to I-55, the Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area, and the larger employment hubs of Joliet and Chicago. Homeownership here is high at roughly 88 percent, reflecting a settled, owner-occupied community.
At a glance
About 720 residents
Braceville had 724 residents at the 2020 census, with more recent estimates near 860.
Grundy County
Primarily in Grundy County, with a small portion extending into Will County.
Founded 1834
The village was founded as Sulphur Springs and renamed Braceville in 1848.
Affordable homes
The median home value was about $187,900 in 2024, well below state and national figures.
High homeownership
About 88 percent of homes in the village are owner-occupied.
Median income
The median household income is roughly $89,000.
Recreation nearby
The Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area sits just to the southeast for fishing and hunting.
Route 66 corridor
Braceville sits on the historic Route 66 path, now Illinois Route 53, near I-55.
What’s close
Braceville sits in northeastern Grundy County along the Illinois Route 53 (historic Route 66) corridor, clustered among the small towns of Gardner, Godley, and Braidwood, with quick access to Interstate 55.
- Region
- Northeastern Grundy County, on the Will County border.
- Distance to Chicago
- Less than 100 miles southwest of Chicago.
- Interstate access
- Near I-55, which IL-53 merges into at nearby Gardner.
- Braidwood
- About 4 miles, a 7-minute drive via IL-53.
- Gardner
- About a 7-minute drive. Braceville is roughly the halfway point between Gardner and Braidwood.
- Recreation
- Close to the Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area.
What it’s actually like to live here
Braceville offers an affordable, low-density, family-centered lifestyle, with the population spread across about 3.3 square miles. The community is overwhelmingly owner-occupied, with a young median age and a high share of households with children. Most residents drive alone to work, averaging about a 31-minute commute, and car ownership is high, reflecting the rural-suburban character of the area.
Outdoor recreation defines much of the local lifestyle thanks to the nearby Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area, one of northeast Illinois's most popular hunting and fishing destinations, with more than 200 water impoundments and over a thousand acres of public land. The historic Route 66 heritage runs through the village's identity, and surrounding towns like Braidwood and Coal City supply additional shopping, dining, and services within a short drive.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Braceville community pages coming soon.
Browse the listings above. Detailed neighborhood pages with market stats, school info, and lifestyle take-downs land here as we roll them out.
Schools
Districts serving Braceville.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D75Grades PK-8
Braceville School District 75
Schools serving the area
- Braceville Elementary School
Serves the Grundy County portion of the village for elementary grades at Braceville Elementary on North Mitchell Street.
- D73Grades 9-12
Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School District 73
Schools serving the area
- Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School
Serves the Grundy County portion of Braceville for high school in nearby Gardner.
- 255UGrades PK-12
Reed-Custer Community Unit School District 255U
Schools serving the area
- Reed-Custer schools in the Braidwood area
Serves the Will County portion of Braceville as a unit district based in Braidwood.
Around town
What there is to do in Braceville.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish & Wildlife Area
An IDNR site of more than 1,000 acres just southeast of Braidwood with 200-plus fishing impoundments, hunting, fossil hunting, and birding.
- Parks
Braidwood Lake
A 2,640-acre cooling-lake fishery just south of Braidwood, a few minutes from Braceville, popular for largemouth bass and catfish.
- Culture
Historic Route 66 Corridor
Braceville sits on the original eastern path of U.S. Route 66, now IL-53, which served Gardner, Braceville, Godley, and Braidwood, a heritage drive for road-trippers.
- Parks
Mazon Creek Fossil Area
The broader Mazonia and Braidwood region near the Mazon River is internationally known for Mazon Creek fossils, and fossil hunting is permitted at the state site.
- Culture
Gardner Historic Sites
Neighboring Gardner, a short drive south on IL-53, preserves Route 66 landmarks including a two-cell jail and a streetcar diner.
- Family
Coal City and Diamond Town Parks
Neighboring Coal City and Diamond, a short drive northwest across I-55, offer additional community parks, ballfields, and local festivals.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Braceville.
- Routes: Illinois Route 53 (Historic Route 66) · I-55 (nearby via Gardner) · Illinois Route 129
- Braidwood: ~7 min
- Gardner: ~7 min
- Joliet: ~30 min
By the numbers
Braceville taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
2.74%
effective avg
Sales tax
6.25%
combined
Median household income
$89,167
ACS
How Braceville got here
A bit of history.
Braceville was founded under the name Sulphur Springs by Reverend L. S. Robbins in 1834. After Robbins's death, the village elected its first official supervisor, B. R. Dowd, in 1848, who renamed the town Braceville after his home community of Braceville Township, Ohio. The little settlement grew up along what would later become the historic Route 66 corridor through Grundy County.
When coal was discovered across the surrounding region during the nineteenth century, Braceville residents grew interested in the mining industry that defined nearby towns like Braidwood and Coal City. No mines were ever actually opened within Braceville itself, however, and the village gradually shifted its focus to other industries. For many years the historic highway crossed a railroad line and creek south of Braceville via a bowstring arch bridge, which was closed in 1994 and removed in 2000.
The questions buyers actually ask
Braceville FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Braceville. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- What county is Braceville, IL in?
- Braceville is primarily in Grundy County, with a small portion extending into Will County. The Census and most data sources treat it as a Grundy County village, so the village straddles the county line.
- How big is Braceville?
- Braceville is a small village of about 724 people as of the 2020 Census, with more recent estimates around 860. It covers roughly 3.3 square miles.
- What is the median home value in Braceville?
- The median home value was about $187,900 in 2024 according to Census-based data, well below the national median, which makes Braceville one of the more affordable doorways into the area's housing market.
- What are property taxes like in Braceville?
- The median effective property tax rate is about 2.74 percent, higher than the Illinois and national medians. Confirm the actual tax bill for a specific address, since the figure shifts with exemptions and which county portion the home sits in.
- What schools serve Braceville?
- The Grundy County portion is served by Braceville School District 75 (PK-8) and Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School District 73 (9-12). The Will County portion is served by Reed-Custer Community Unit School District 255U.
- Is there a Metra train station in Braceville?
- No. Braceville has no Metra station, and commuter rail does not extend this far south into Grundy County. Residents commute by car, primarily via Illinois Route 53 and Interstate 55.
- What is there to do near Braceville?
- The nearby Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area offers fishing, hunting, birding, and fossil hunting across more than a thousand acres, and the village sits on the historic Route 66 corridor with landmarks in neighboring Gardner.
- Who is the real estate agent for Braceville?
- Joe Keegan is the local licensed Illinois real estate broker who covers Braceville in Braceville, IL through Subdiview, a neighborhood-first home search for the Chicago suburbs and collar counties. Joe prices and negotiates from the live MRED sold comps for Braceville specifically, not national averages, and can help you buy or sell here. Reach Joe at 224-385-8779 or joe@joekeeganhomes.com.
Nearby
Towns next to Braceville.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the places that border Braceville.
Your local agent
Joe knows Braceville
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- Braceville specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Thinking of selling?
What's your home actually worth?
Not a Zestimate. A real CMA from someone who's sold this neighborhood, knows the floor plan premiums, and can tell you which upgrades the buyer pool here actually pays for.
- Pricing range with comp-by-comp logic
- Pre-list improvements that pay back, and the ones that don't
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