Geneva · Kane County · IL
Homes for sale in
Geneva.
- Active listings
- 36
- Median list
- $584K
- Avg time on market
- 21 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Map data, Mapbox / OpenStreetMap contributors
Active listings
36 homes on the market
About the community
Living in Geneva.
Geneva is the middle of the Fox River Tri-Cities, sitting between St. Charles to the north and Batavia to the south, and it has been the seat of Kane County since 1836. The downtown is the draw: roughly 100 plus specialty shops and restaurants packed into Victorian-era storefronts along Third Street, plus a working Metra UP-W station that puts Ogilvie inside an hour. Schools run through Geneva CUSD 304, one of the higher-ranked unit districts in the state, with Geneva Community High School as the lone high school. Buyers pay for that combination. The typical home value is around $461,000 and the effective property tax rate sits near 2.69 percent. It is not a hidden value play. It is a town people pay up to live in because the downtown, the schools, and the Metra all actually work.
At a glance
~21,400 residents
21,393 at the 2020 Census. The middle Tri-Cities municipality between St. Charles to the north and Batavia to the south.
Geneva CUSD 304
K-12 unit district, about 5,200 students across one high school, two middle schools, and six elementaries. Geneva Community High School ranks in the top 40 of 697 Illinois high schools per US News.
UP-W Metra station
Geneva station, 35.5 rail miles to Ogilvie Transportation Center. Rush express runs about 60 to 70 minutes.
Kane County seat since 1836
County government campus at 719 S Batavia Ave. The 1881 to 1882 Old Courthouse on Third Street is still a civic anchor.
Third Street historic district
100 plus specialty shops and restaurants in Victorian storefronts. The Little Traveler has been there since the 1930s.
Swedish Days + Festival of the Vine
Two major street festivals run by the Geneva Chamber. Swedish Days is a five-day Midsommar event every June, since 1949.
Fabyan Forest Preserve
300-plus-acre former Fabyan estate just south of town, with a working 1870s Dutch windmill, a Frank Lloyd Wright-renovated villa, and a 1910 Japanese garden.
Median home value ~$461K
Zillow ZHVI early 2026, up about 4 percent year over year. Median sold prices in spring 2025 ran over $540,000.
What’s close
Geneva sits on the Fox River roughly 36 miles west of the Loop, anchored by a walkable downtown grid and bracketed by Randall Road retail to the west and forest preserve to the south.
- Third Street historic shopping district
- 100 plus shops and restaurants in Victorian-era storefronts running through downtown. The commercial heart of town.
- Old Kane County Courthouse
- 100 South 3rd Street. The 1881 to 1882 Romanesque building is still a working civic and visual anchor downtown.
- Fabyan Forest Preserve
- Just south of town on Route 25. The former Fabyan estate with the windmill, Frank Lloyd Wright-renovated villa, and Japanese garden.
- Geneva Commons
- Open-air lifestyle center on the east edge of town off Route 38. About 418,000 sq ft and 80 plus retailers including Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, lululemon, and Sephora.
- Mill Creek (unincorporated)
- Shodeen-built single-family subdivision in unincorporated Kane County southwest of the city. Most parcels feed Geneva CUSD 304.
- Island Park + Geneva Riverwalk
- Island in the Fox River walkable from downtown, with gardens, the Fox River Trail, and a treehouse-themed playground.
What it’s actually like to live here
Daily life in Geneva is built around the downtown grid. Residents walk or bike to Third Street for shopping and dinner, hop the Fox River Trail south to Fabyan or north toward St. Charles, and use the UP-W Metra at the foot of State Street for the commute. The trail is paved, about eight feet wide, and runs roughly 32 miles along the Fox River through Kane County, which makes Geneva one of the rare suburbs where weekend recreation does not require a car. Schools are a primary draw. Geneva CUSD 304 serves approximately 5,200 students across one high school, two middle schools, six elementary schools, and a preschool, and Geneva Community High School ranks in the top 40 of 697 Illinois high schools per US News.
Geneva trades in slightly different texture than its Tri-City neighbors. St. Charles is bigger and a little more nightlife-driven, Batavia leans industrial-heritage and lower priced, and Geneva is the boutique pick - more dress shops and chocolate stores than sports bars. The town hits its peak twice a year, in late June for Swedish Days and in September for Festival of the Vine, both of which close streets downtown and pull serious crowds. On the housing side, the typical home value is around $461,000 and median tax bills clear $9,700, so you are paying for the address. For buyers who want a real downtown, a real Metra station, and one of the stronger unit districts in the western suburbs, Geneva is the answer most agents quote first.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Geneva 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 Geneva.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D304Grades Pre-K - 12
Geneva Community Unit School District 304
Schools serving the area
- Geneva Community High School
- Geneva Middle School North
- Geneva Middle School South
- Fabyan Elementary
- Mill Creek Elementary
- Williamsburg Elementary
Geneva CUSD 304 covers all of Geneva and most of the unincorporated Mill Creek subdivision. Far western edges of the area can fall into Kaneland CUSD 302. Verify by exact address on the district boundary map at geneva304.org/boundaries.aspx.
Around town
What there is to do in Geneva.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Fabyan Forest Preserve
Former 300-plus-acre Fabyan estate now a public preserve with a 68-foot 1870s Dutch windmill, a Frank Lloyd Wright-renovated villa museum, and a 1910 Taro Otsuka Japanese garden. Open May through mid-October.
- Shopping
Third Street Historic Shopping District
100 plus specialty shops and restaurants in Victorian storefronts and converted homes. Anchored by the Little Traveler, which has been there since the 1930s.
- Family
Swedish Days Festival
Five-day Midsommar festival run by the Geneva Chamber every June since 1949, with a parade, carnival, craft beer tent, and food stands across downtown.
- Shopping
Geneva Commons
Open-air lifestyle center with 80 plus retailers and restaurants over about 418,000 sq ft, including Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, lululemon, Sephora, and Warby Parker. Opened 2002.
- Parks
Fox River Trail and Geneva Riverwalk
Paved 8-foot multi-use path along the Fox River, roughly 32 miles through Kane County, connecting downtown Geneva to Island Park, Fabyan, St. Charles, and Batavia.
- Food & Drink
Stockholm's Brewpub
Downtown brewpub at 306 W State Street, open since May 2002. Handcrafted beer brewed in the front window and upscale comfort food.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Geneva.
MetraUP-W line
- Stations: Geneva
- Terminal: Chicago Ogilvie (OTC)
- Distance: 35.5 miles to downtown Chicago
DriveBy car
- Routes: IL 38 (State Street / Roosevelt Road) · IL 25 · IL 31 · IL 64 (North Avenue) · Randall Road
- O'Hare Airport: ~48 min
- Chicago Loop: ~69 min
By the numbers
Geneva taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
2.69%
effective avg
Sales tax
8.00%
combined
Median sold price
$550,000
MRED · last 12 mo (396 sales)
Median household income
$144,341
ACS
How Geneva got here
A bit of history.
Daniel Shaw Haight built the first cabin on the site in 1833 near a large spring on the west bank of the Fox River, initially calling the settlement Big Spring. The election to organize Kane County was held in James Herrington's cabin in June 1836, and at the same vote settlers picked the location of the county seat and adopted the name Geneva, after Geneva, New York. The town incorporated as a village in 1867 and as a city in 1887. The massive Romanesque Old Courthouse standing today at 100 South 3rd Street was built in 1881 to 1882 by Chicago architects W.J. Edbrooke and Franklin P. Burnham.
Swedish immigrants arrived through the late 1800s and stamped enough cultural footprint that the Geneva Chamber has run an annual Swedish Days festival since 1949, now a five-day event that pulls heavy traffic into downtown every June. George and Nelle Fabyan acquired a farmhouse south of town in the early 1900s and built it into a 300-plus-acre Riverbank estate, complete with a Frank Lloyd Wright-renovated villa, a Taro Otsuka Japanese garden, and a Dutch windmill Fabyan bought in 1914 and moved onto the property. The Forest Preserve District of Kane County bought 235 acres of the estate after the Fabyans died, which is why the windmill, villa, and Japanese garden sit inside Fabyan Forest Preserve today.
The questions buyers actually ask
Geneva FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Geneva. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- What school district serves Geneva, IL?
- Almost all of Geneva is in Geneva Community Unit School District 304, a K-12 unit district with about 5,200 students across one high school (Geneva Community High School), two middle schools, six elementaries, and a preschool. The high school ranks in the top 40 of 697 Illinois high schools per US News. A few far western parcels can fall into Kaneland CUSD 302. Check the district boundary map at geneva304.org/boundaries.aspx by exact address.
- How long is the Metra commute from Geneva to downtown Chicago?
- The Geneva station is on the UP-W (Union Pacific West) line, 35.5 miles from Ogilvie Transportation Center. Express trains during rush typically run roughly 60 to 70 minutes.
- How is Geneva different from Batavia and St. Charles?
- All three sit on the Fox River and share the same broad commute pattern, but the texture is different. St. Charles is the largest of the three and has the most restaurants and nightlife. Batavia is smaller and tends to price lower with more industrial-heritage character. Geneva is the boutique pick: smaller in footprint, denser shopping mix on Third Street with one-off retailers rather than chains, and the Kane County government seat.
- What is the property tax rate in Geneva?
- The average effective rate is roughly 2.69 percent, slightly above the Kane County average of about 2.63 percent per Ownwell. Median tax bill is around $9,800, well above the $2,400 national median. Always pull the actual bill for the specific address.
- What is there to do downtown?
- Third Street and the surrounding blocks (Second, State, and South Streets) hold 100 plus specialty shops and restaurants in restored Victorian storefronts and homes. Anchors include the Little Traveler (since the 1930s), Stockholm's brewpub, and the Old Kane County Courthouse from 1882. Twice a year the streets close for Swedish Days (June) and Festival of the Vine (September).
- Is Mill Creek part of Geneva?
- No. Mill Creek is a Shodeen-built single-family subdivision in unincorporated Kane County southwest of the city limits, started in 1995. Services (zoning, roads, sheriff) come from Kane County and Blackberry Township, not the City of Geneva. Most homes still feed Geneva CUSD 304 schools, which is why buyers often shop it alongside in-town Geneva.
- What is the typical home price in Geneva?
- Zillow's typical home value is about $461,000, up about 4 percent year over year. Actual sold prices in spring 2025 ran higher, with median sold price clearing $540,000 in May 2025.
Nearby
Towns next to Geneva.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the places that border Geneva.
Your local agent
Joe knows Geneva
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the communities I actually know, and the details that determine resale value here aren't in the MLS write-up: which lots back to open space, which streets carry the most consistent demand, which floor plans buyers ask for by name, and what each HOA actually covers.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who's walked the streets, talked to the residents, and read the last 50 closed comps in this market specifically. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Lives in McHenry County
- Local specialist
- Geneva 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