Crete · Will County · IL
Homes for sale in
Crete.
- Active listings
- 53
- Median list
- $329K
- Avg time on market
- 20 days
- Sold · last year
- 2
Active listings
53 homes on the market
About the community
Living in Crete.
Crete is a village of roughly 8,300 to 8,500 people in far southeastern Will County, a far-south suburb of Chicago that sits about 30 miles from the Loop and only 6 miles from the Indiana border. Founded in 1836 by Vermont settlers and originally called Wood's Corner, it was renamed Crete after the island mentioned in St. Paul's biblical voyage to Rome, and it still carries the motto Gateway to the Southland. The village is anchored by a historic downtown along Main Street and Exchange Street, home to small shops, the Evil Horse Brewing Company, and the Crete Area Historical Society and Museum housed in the 1853 former Crete Congregational Church. For decades Crete was known regionally as the home of Balmoral Park, the harness-racing track just south of town that ran from 1926 to 2015. Buyers are drawn by an unusually high 90 percent homeownership rate, a median household income near $97,000, and a median home value around $228,500, well below the national figure. The trade-offs are taxes and distance: the median effective property tax rate is about 3.30 percent, and the average commute runs roughly 38 minutes, with rail access via the nearby University Park Metra Electric terminal.
At a glance
About 8,465 residents
A far-south Chicago suburb in Will County, with recent estimates near 8,300.
Near the Indiana border
Sits about 30 miles south of the Chicago Loop and only about 6 miles west of the Indiana state line.
Crete-Monee 201U
Served by Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201U, a PK-12 unit district.
90 percent homeownership
An exceptionally high owner-occupied rate, well above the national average.
Median income about $97,000
A settled, family-oriented village with above-average household income.
Median home value about $228,500
Well below the national median, among the steadier values in the south suburbs.
Historic downtown
The Main Street and Exchange Street district has shops, the Evil Horse Brewing Company, and a museum in the 1853 former Congregational church.
Two golf courses
The private Lincolnshire Country Club and the public Balmoral Woods, plus a park district managing about 130 acres.
What’s close
Crete sits in far southeastern Will County at the southern edge of the Chicago metropolitan area, about 30 miles south of downtown Chicago and roughly 6 miles west of the Indiana border.
- County
- Will County, Illinois, in the far southeast corner of the county.
- Distance to Chicago
- About 30 miles south of the Chicago Loop.
- Indiana border
- Only about 6 miles west of the Indiana state line.
- Main highways
- Illinois Route 1 (Dixie Highway) runs through the area, with Illinois Route 394 about 2 miles east.
- Downtown streets
- The historic core is centered on Main Street and Exchange Street.
- Metra access
- The University Park station, southern terminus of the Metra Electric District line, serves the Crete-Monee area.
What it’s actually like to live here
Day-to-day life in Crete revolves around its historic downtown and a strong, settled homeowner base, with 90 percent of housing units owner-occupied. The Main Street and Exchange Street district offers small shops, salons, food trucks, and the Evil Horse Brewing Company taproom, while the Crete Area Historical Society and Museum, set in the 1853 former Crete Congregational Church, hosts cemetery walks and local-history talks through the year. The Crete Park District rounds out community life with about 130 acres of parks, natural areas, and a bike trail, plus year-round programs ranging from youth sports and preschool to yoga, pickleball, and family events.
Recreation is a strong draw. Golfers have two options inside the village: the private Lincolnshire Country Club, a 1927 Tom Bendelow design, and the public Balmoral Woods Golf Club, a wooded 18-hole layout that annually hosts the Will County Amateur Championship. Just outside town, Goodenow Grove Forest Preserve offers hiking, sledding, and seasonal nature programs along Plum Creek. Commuting is the main lifestyle trade-off: the average travel time to work is about 38 minutes and most workers drive, though some now work from home, and commuter rail is available at the nearby University Park Metra Electric terminal.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Crete 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 Crete.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- CUSD 201UGrades PK-12
Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201U
Schools serving the area
- Crete Elementary School
- Balmoral Elementary School
- Crete-Monee Middle School
- Crete-Monee High School
All public schools in Crete are operated by Crete-Monee CUSD 201U, a single PK-12 unit district that also serves Monee, University Park, and Park Forest. Some middle and elementary buildings sit in those neighboring towns. Crete is also home to Illinois Lutheran, a private PK-12 school.
Around town
What there is to do in Crete.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Crete Park District
Manages roughly 130 acres of parks, natural areas, and a bike trail, plus year-round recreation programs for all ages.
- Parks
Goodenow Grove Forest Preserve
A Forest Preserve District of Will County site along Plum Creek just outside Crete, offering hiking in summer and sledding and ice skating in winter.
- Family
Balmoral Woods Golf Club
A public 18-hole, par-72 course laid out over wooded, rolling hills, and the annual home of the Will County Amateur Championship.
- Culture
Crete Area Historical Society and Museum
Local history museum housed in the historic 1853 former Crete Congregational Church, hosting cemetery walks and history talks.
- Food & Drink
Evil Horse Brewing Company
A downtown craft brewery and taproom on Main Street pouring locally brewed beers in Crete's historic core.
- Culture
Lincolnshire Country Club
A private 18-hole country club on East Richton Road, originally designed by Tom Bendelow in 1927.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Crete.
MetraME line
- Stations: University Park
- Terminal: Millennium Station
- Distance: 31.5 miles to downtown Chicago
DriveBy car
- Routes: Illinois Route 1 (Dixie Highway) · Illinois Route 394 · Exchange Street · Main Street
- University Park Metra: ~12 min
- Chicago Loop: ~55 min
By the numbers
Crete taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
3.30%
effective avg
Sales tax
7.50%
combined
Median sold price
$232,000
MRED · last 12 mo (2 sales)
Median household income
$97,147
ACS
How Crete got here
A bit of history.
Crete was founded in 1836 by Vermont settlers Dyantha Wood, Willard Wood, and Gary Neal, and was originally named Wood's Corner. Willard Wood later renamed the settlement Crete after the island mentioned in St. Paul's biblical journey to Rome. The village grew as a rural outpost in southeastern Will County and gradually evolved into a suburban community, a transition documented by the Crete Area Historical Society, which preserves the area's history in the 1853 former Crete Congregational Church on West Exchange Street. Crete adopted the motto Gateway to the Southland, reflecting its position at the southern edge of metropolitan Chicago near the Indiana state line.
For much of the 20th century Crete was synonymous with horse racing. Balmoral Park, located just south of the village, opened in 1926 as Lincoln Fields, holding its inaugural meeting on August 9, 1926. In 1955 Benjamin Lindheimer's Balmoral Jockey Club purchased Lincoln Fields, and the facility carried the Balmoral name through its years as a thoroughbred and later harness-racing track until racing ended in 2015. The track sat along the historic Dixie Highway corridor, Illinois Route 1, the first north-south state highway in Illinois. All public schooling in the village is provided by the combined Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201U, which links Crete with neighboring Monee, University Park, and Park Forest.
The questions buyers actually ask
Crete FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Crete. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- What school district serves Crete, IL?
- Crete's public schools are all part of Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201U, a PK-12 unit district that also serves Monee, University Park, and Park Forest. Crete-Monee High School is in Crete on West Exchange Street.
- How far is Crete from downtown Chicago, and can I take the train?
- Crete is about 30 miles south of the Chicago Loop. The nearest commuter rail is the University Park station, the southern terminus of Metra's Electric District line, which runs into Millennium Station downtown. The average local commute is about 38 minutes.
- What are property taxes like in Crete?
- Crete's median effective property tax rate is about 3.30 percent, higher than the Illinois state median, with a median annual tax bill in the $7,000 range. Always confirm the actual bill for a specific address, since exemptions and levies move the number.
- How much do homes cost in Crete?
- The Census-reported median value of owner-occupied homes is about $228,500, well below the national median, and roughly 90 percent of homes are owner-occupied.
- What is the sales tax rate in Crete?
- The combined sales tax rate in Crete is 7.5 percent, made up of the 6.25 percent Illinois state rate, a 0.5 percent Crete rate, and a 0.75 percent Regional Transportation Authority rate.
- What is there to do in Crete?
- Crete has a historic Main Street downtown with shops and the Evil Horse Brewing Company taproom, the Crete Area Historical Society museum, two golf courses, and Goodenow Grove Forest Preserve nearby for hiking and sledding. The Crete Park District manages about 130 acres of parks and a bike trail.
Your local agent
Joe knows Crete
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
- Crete 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
- No obligation, no spam, no auto-dialer