Godley · Will County · IL
Homes for sale in
Godley.
- Active listings
- 2
- Median list
- $177K
- Avg time on market
- 34 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Map data, Mapbox / OpenStreetMap contributors
About the community
Living in Godley.
Godley is a very small village of roughly 566 people sitting on the Will-Grundy county line in former coal-mining country, just northeast of Braidwood and a few minutes from Coal City and Diamond. Once a booming 1880s coal town of close to a thousand Scottish, Irish, and Welsh miners, Godley today is a quiet, mostly residential community spread across just over one square mile. The Will County portion is served by Reed-Custer Community Unit School District 255U, headquartered in nearby Braidwood. Buyers look here for affordability, a small-town pace, and rural surroundings, while still being close to Braidwood and Coal City amenities and an easy drive to I-55 for commuting toward Joliet and the greater Chicago area. Median home prices here run well below the Illinois average, making Godley one of the more budget-friendly addresses in the southwest corner of the county.
At a glance
About 566 residents
A tiny village of just over one square mile, sitting on the Will-Grundy county line.
Coal-mining heritage
A former 1880s coal boom town in the Wilmington coal field, once home to about a thousand Scottish, Irish, and Welsh miners.
Reed-Custer CUSD 255U
The Will County portion of Godley is served by Reed-Custer Community Unit School District 255U, based in nearby Braidwood.
Affordable home prices
Median home values around $106,878 for ZIP 60407, well below the Illinois average.
I-55 access
Close to I-55 and Illinois Route 53 for commuting toward Joliet and Chicago.
Rural setting
Surrounded by farmland and reclaimed state recreation lands, minutes from Braidwood and Coal City.
Outdoor recreation nearby
The Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area and Braidwood Lake sit right on the village's doorstep.
ZIP code 60407
Godley uses ZIP code 60407 in the Braidwood postal area.
What’s close
Godley is tucked into the southwestern corner of Will County, straddling the Grundy County line in old coal-mining country, just northeast of Braidwood and a short drive from Coal City and Diamond.
- County
- Will County, on the Will-Grundy county line.
- Region
- Southwestern Will County, adjacent to Braidwood, Coal City, and Diamond.
- ZIP code
- 60407.
- Highways
- Near Illinois Route 53 and I-55, the main corridor toward Joliet and Chicago.
- Area
- About 1.08 square miles, almost entirely land.
- Elevation
- Roughly 584 feet above sea level.
What it’s actually like to live here
Life in Godley is quiet and small-scale. This is a compact residential village of a few hundred people surrounded by farm fields and the open country of southwestern Will County. There is little commercial activity within the village itself, so day-to-day shopping, dining, and services are handled in neighboring Braidwood and Coal City, both only minutes away. The appeal here is affordability and a slower pace, with home prices well below the Illinois average and a tight, rural community feel.
The surrounding area is a draw for anyone who likes the outdoors. The Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area, built on reclaimed strip-mine land, offers dozens of lakes for fishing, plus waterfowl hunting, fossil hunting, and birding right on Godley's doorstep. Braidwood Lake adds more fishing and hunting acreage. Coal City contributes parks, a bike path, and the Coal City Area Club with its swimming beach and campsites, while the larger amenities of Joliet, including Pilcher Park, are a short drive up I-55. It is an easy place to combine affordable small-town living with weekend recreation.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Godley 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 Godley.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D255UGrades PreK-12
Reed-Custer Community Unit School District 255U
Schools serving the area
- Reed-Custer Elementary School
- Reed-Custer Intermediate School
- Reed-Custer Middle School
- Reed-Custer High School
The Will County portion of Godley is served by Reed-Custer CUSD 255U in Braidwood. The Grundy County portion falls into Braceville School District 75 and Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School District, so confirm the attendance boundary by address.
Around town
What there is to do in Godley.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area
A sprawling state complex on reclaimed coal-mine land just outside Godley, with dozens of lakes for fishing plus waterfowl hunting, fossil hunting, and birding.
- Parks
Braidwood Lake
A 2,640-acre cooling-lake fishery in Will County south of Braidwood, popular for largemouth bass, catfish, and waterfowl hunting by permit.
- Parks
Coal City Village Parks and Bike Path
Nearby Coal City offers Lions Park, North Park, an all-inclusive playground, a dog park, and a mile-plus bike path.
- Family
Coal City Area Club
A membership recreation club in nearby Coal City with a swimming beach, picnic areas, campsites, and playgrounds.
- Parks
Pilcher Park Nature Center
Over 640 acres of woods, hiking and bike trails, and a log-cabin nature center in Joliet, an easy drive north up I-55.
- Culture
Wilmington Coal Field Heritage
Godley's roots as an 1880s coal boom town are part of a broader mining history shared with Coal City and Braidwood, documented by the Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Godley.
DriveBy car
- Routes: I-55 (nearby) · IL 53 · Smiley Road
- Braidwood: ~5 min
- Joliet: ~28 min
- Chicago Loop: ~65 min
By the numbers
Godley taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
1.87%
effective avg
Sales tax
8.00%
combined
Median household income
$54,583
ACS
How Godley got here
A bit of history.
Godley grew up in the 1880s as a coal-mining boom town in the rich Wilmington coal field that spread across southern Will and Grundy counties. The Chicago, Wilmington and Vermilion Coal Company sank shafts in the area, and at its peak the K-Mine alone employed 432 men and produced more than 73,000 tons of coal. The WPA guide to Illinois described Godley as once a booming coal town peopled by roughly a thousand Scottish, Irish, and Welsh miners, complete with a store, numerous taverns, and a rough frontier reputation.
The boom did not last. The K-Mine shaft was shut down in 1888, and as the mines closed through the 1890s Godley's population collapsed from nearly 500 to around 50. The village endured as a small residential community on the edge of the old coal field. Today Godley is home to about 566 residents across just over a square mile, a quiet village whose coal-mining roots survive mostly in local memory and in the reclaimed strip-mine lakes that now define the surrounding state recreation lands.
The questions buyers actually ask
Godley FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Godley. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- What school district serves Godley, IL?
- The Will County portion of Godley is served by Reed-Custer Community Unit School District 255U, based in nearby Braidwood, which runs Reed-Custer Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, and High Schools. The Grundy County portion of the village is instead zoned to Braceville School District 75 and Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School District, so confirm your boundary by address.
- Does Godley have a Metra or commuter train station?
- No. Godley has no commuter rail of its own. The nearest Metra service is in Joliet, about 25 to 30 minutes north via I-55, on the Heritage Corridor and Rock Island lines. Most residents drive, with I-55 providing the main route toward Joliet and Chicago.
- How affordable is Godley compared to the rest of the Chicago area?
- Very affordable. Median home prices in Godley and ZIP 60407 run around $106,878 according to Ownwell, far below the Illinois average. Godley also has one of the lower median tax bills in Will County, which is part of its appeal for budget-conscious buyers.
- What are Godley's property taxes like?
- Godley's effective property tax rate is roughly 1.87 percent according to Ownwell, which is below the Will County aggregate median of about 2.67 percent. Combined with low home values, that keeps the typical Godley tax bill modest by Will County standards.
- What actually is Godley, and what is its history?
- Godley is a tiny village of about 566 people on the Will-Grundy county line. It began in the 1880s as a coal-mining boom town in the Wilmington coal field, once home to nearly a thousand Scottish, Irish, and Welsh miners. When the mines closed in the 1890s the population collapsed, and Godley has remained a small, quiet residential village ever since.
- What amenities are nearby if Godley itself is so small?
- Almost everything day-to-day is in neighboring Braidwood and Coal City, both only a few minutes away, with shopping, dining, and services. For recreation, the Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area and Braidwood Lake are right next door, and larger amenities including Pilcher Park are a short drive up I-55 in Joliet.
Nearby
Towns next to Godley.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the places that border Godley.
Your local agent
Joe knows Godley
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
- Godley 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