Grayslake · Lake County · IL
Homes for sale in
Grayslake.
- Active listings
- 37
- Median list
- $399K
- Avg time on market
- 10 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Active listings
37 homes on the market
About the community
Living in Grayslake.
Grayslake sits in northern Lake County, roughly 42 miles from the Chicago Loop, and was incorporated in 1895 around the small kettle lake that gave it a name. The village is unusual in being served by two separate Metra commuter lines, the Milwaukee District North out of the historic Grayslake station and the North Central Service out of Washington Street, both running to Chicago Union Station. Downtown is anchored by Center Street and the clocktower in Millennium Court, with Central Park and Gelatin Park stitching the historic core to the broader park system. Families come for the Grayslake CHSD 127 high schools (Grayslake Central and Grayslake North) and the District 46 K-8 feeder, while the College of Lake County main campus on West Washington Street gives the village an unusual amount of cultural and continuing-education programming for its size. The annual Lake County Fair at the Fairgrounds, the Wednesday Farmers' Market, and the Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve round out a calendar that feels much bigger than the population suggests.
At a glance
~21,248 residents
2020 Census population for the village. Stable family-suburb identity in northern Lake County.
Two Metra lines
Milwaukee District North (MD-N) at the historic Grayslake station and North Central Service (NCS) at the Washington Street station. Both terminate at Chicago Union Station.
D46 + CHSD 127
Grayslake CCSD 46 (PK-8, seven schools) feeds into Grayslake CHSD 127, which runs Grayslake Central HS and Grayslake North HS.
College of Lake County
Main campus at 19351 W. Washington Street. 170-plus acres, about 15,000 students, opened 1969.
Lake County Fair
Annual five-day fair at the end of July, hosted on the 160-acre Lake County Fairgrounds at Peterson and Midlothian Roads since 2008.
Median home value ~$311,461
Zillow Home Value Index for Grayslake. Mid-range Lake County pricing for a school-driven family suburb.
Effective property tax ~3.50%
Ownwell reports a median effective rate around 3.5 percent in Grayslake with a median annual tax bill near $8,015. Among the higher rates in Lake County.
Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve
20160 W. Washington Street. 1,200-plus acres of restored prairie and wetlands with a 7.75-mile trail loop, recognized by the National Audubon Society as an important bird area.
What’s close
Grayslake sits in northern Lake County, Illinois, with US 45 running through the eastern edge of the village and Illinois Routes 83, 120, and 137 intersecting downtown. The Tri-State Tollway (I-94) is about six miles east.
- Downtown Center Street
- Historic walkable retail spine anchored by the Millennium Court clocktower. Antique lighting and stamped concrete from the 1984 streetscape rebuild.
- Central Park
- 50-plus-acre Park District campus with bike paths, disc golf, spray park, sports fields, and the municipal pool.
- Grays Lake and Jones Island Park
- Sandy beach, boat launch, and picnic areas on the namesake kettle lake.
- Lake County Fairgrounds
- 160-acre site at Peterson and Midlothian Roads, hosting the annual Lake County Fair and year-round shows.
- College of Lake County, Grayslake campus
- Main campus at 19351 W. Washington Street. 170-plus acres, 15,000 students, opened 1969.
- Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve
- 20160 W. Washington Street. 1,200-plus acres of restored prairie and wetlands with a 7.75-mile trail loop.
What it’s actually like to live here
Day-to-day life in Grayslake is split between a walkable historic core and a generous outdoor envelope. Center Street still carries the antique lighting and stamped concrete from the 1984 streetscape rebuild, and the Wednesday-evening Grayslake Farmers' Market runs on Center Street from June through September. The annual Arts Festival each June brings more than 70 juried artists to the same blocks. From downtown, a pedestrian connection through Gelatin Park leads directly into Central Park and the Park District's 21-mile bike-path network.
The outdoor side leans heavily on water and prairie. Grays Lake itself is small but accessible by way of Jones Island Park, Molly's Pond is a quiet fishing and ice-fishing spot, and Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve protects more than 1,200 acres of restored prairie and wetlands recognized by the National Audubon Society as an important bird area. Summer adds the Grayslake Aquatic Center, the Chicagoland Grayslake Antique Flea Market at the Fairgrounds, and the five-day Lake County Fair at the end of July. College of Lake County concerts, exhibits, and athletics round out the calendar.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Grayslake 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 Grayslake.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D46Grades PK to 8
Grayslake Community Consolidated School District 46
Schools serving the area
- Meadowview Elementary
- Avon Center Elementary
- Prairieview Elementary
- Woodview Elementary
- Frederick School
- Park School
CCSD 46 covers seven schools in Grayslake and the surrounding area, serving the K-8 feeder to Grayslake CHSD 127.
- D127Grades 9 to 12
Grayslake Community High School District 127
Schools serving the area
- Grayslake Central High School
- Grayslake North High School
Two-school district. Grayslake Central is the older Knights campus; Grayslake North opened in the 2000s as the Knights' sister Bears campus. Boundary lines split incoming D46 graduates by attendance area.
Around town
What there is to do in Grayslake.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Central Park (Grayslake Park District)
50-plus-acre Park District campus with bike paths, disc golf, spray park, multiple sports fields, and the municipal pool.
- Family
Lake County Fair
Annual five-day fair at the end of July, hosted on the 160-acre Lake County Fairgrounds since 2008. Carnival, livestock, demolition derby, concerts, and grandstand events.
- Parks
Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve
1,200-plus-acre forest preserve at 20160 W. Washington Street with a 7.75-mile trail loop through restored prairie and wetlands, an Audubon-recognized important bird area.
- Shopping
Grayslake Farmers' Market
Wednesday-evening farmers' market on Center Street, June through September. The annual Arts Festival in June brings 70-plus juried artists to the same blocks.
- Culture
College of Lake County, Grayslake Campus
170-plus-acre community college campus with the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, athletic events, and continuing-education programming open to the public.
- Culture
Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum
Local history museum in the former Village Hall, anchored in Heritage Park downtown.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Grayslake.
MetraMD-N + NCS line
- Stations: Grayslake (MD-N), Washington Street / Grayslake (NCS)
- Terminal: Chicago Union Station
DriveBy car
- Routes: US 45 · IL 83 · IL 120 (Belvidere Road) · IL 137 · I-94 (Tri-State Tollway, ~6 miles east)
- Chicago Loop: ~60 min
- O'Hare Airport: ~54 min
By the numbers
Grayslake taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
3.50%
effective avg
Sales tax
7.00%
combined
Median sold price
$336,500
MRED · last 12 mo (444 sales)
Median household income
$113,697
ACS
How Grayslake got here
A bit of history.
Grayslake takes its name from William M. Gray, a Massachusetts-born settler who arrived in 1840 and farmed along what was then an unnamed lake. Other farmers trickled in through the 1840s, and although Gray himself moved to Waukegan in 1845, his name stuck both to the lake and to the settlement that grew up around it. The village's growth quickened in 1880, when the Wisconsin Central Railroad built a line from Fond du Lac to Chicago that ran along the east side of Grays Lake. Grayslake was formally incorporated as a village in 1895.
For more than 70 years the Lake County Fair has called Grayslake home. The Lake County Agricultural Society held the first fair in 1851 in Antioch, and after stops in Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville, and Wauconda, the fair settled in Grayslake at US 45 and IL 120 in 1954. In 2008 the Lake County Fair Association purchased the present 160-acre fairgrounds at Peterson and Midlothian Roads, where the fair runs five days at the end of July each year alongside RV shows, antique flea markets, and other year-round events.
The questions buyers actually ask
Grayslake FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Grayslake. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- Where is Grayslake, Illinois?
- Grayslake is a village in northern Lake County, Illinois, about 42 miles north of the Chicago Loop and about 36 miles from O'Hare International Airport.
- How does Grayslake get to Chicago by train?
- Grayslake is one of the few suburbs served by two Metra lines. The Milwaukee District North (MD-N) runs from the historic Grayslake station at Lake and St. Paul, and the North Central Service (NCS) runs from the Washington Street station at 330 W. Washington. Both terminate at Chicago Union Station.
- What school districts serve Grayslake?
- Most Grayslake students attend Community Consolidated School District 46 (CCSD 46) for grades K-8 and Grayslake Community High School District 127 (CHSD 127) for high school. CHSD 127 operates Grayslake Central High School and Grayslake North High School, with the boundary splitting incoming D46 graduates by attendance area.
- What is the property tax rate in Grayslake?
- The median effective property tax rate in Grayslake is about 3.5 percent, with a median property tax bill near $8,015 according to Ownwell. Lake County, Illinois has some of the highest property tax rates in the country, and Grayslake sits on the higher end of that county.
- What is the median home value in Grayslake?
- Zillow's Home Value Index for Grayslake is roughly $311,000 as of the most recent update, mid-range for Lake County family suburbs.
- What is the Lake County Fair and when is it held?
- The Lake County Fair is an annual five-day fair held at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake at the end of July. The fair has been hosted in Grayslake since 1954 and on its current 160-acre site at Peterson and Midlothian Roads since 2008.
- Is the College of Lake County in Grayslake?
- Yes. The College of Lake County's main campus is in Grayslake at 19351 W. Washington Street. The campus opened in 1969, sits on more than 170 acres, and enrolls about 15,000 students.
Your local agent
Joe knows Grayslake
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
- Grayslake specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Thinking of selling?
What's your home actually worth?
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