Gurnee · Lake County · IL
Homes for sale in
Gurnee.
- Active listings
- 25
- Median list
- $429K
- Avg time on market
- 8 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Photo: Feather Better / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
About the community
Living in Gurnee.
Gurnee sits in central Lake County where I-94 meets Illinois Route 132 (Grand Avenue). Most of what people outside Illinois know about the village comes from two addresses on that interchange: Six Flags Great America and Gurnee Mills. Day to day, Gurnee functions as a family suburb of roughly 30,500 residents anchored by Warren Township High School District 121, with K-8 students split between Woodland CCSD 50 west of the river and Gurnee SD 56 closer to the older village core. The Des Plaines River runs north-south through the village and carries the Des Plaines River Trail with it, giving Gurnee a real natural spine in addition to the retail strip. Commuters drive I-94 south to O'Hare and the Loop, or head a few miles east to the Waukegan station on Metra's Union Pacific North line. Housing leans toward 1980s to 2000s subdivisions like Hunt Club Farms, Stonebrook, and Bittersweet Woods.
At a glance
~30,500 residents
2020 Census recorded 30,706. Later estimates put the village right around 30,500.
Warren Township HSD 121
Single high school on a two-campus model: O'Plaine Road campus serves grades 9-10, Almond Road campus serves grades 11-12.
K-8 split: Woodland 50 + Gurnee 56
Most of Gurnee is in Woodland CCSD 50 (one of the largest elementary districts in Illinois). The older central section sits in Gurnee SD 56. Confirm by address.
I-94 at Route 132
Direct Tri-State Tollway access. About 37 minutes to O'Hare in light traffic, 60+ minutes to the Loop.
Six Flags Great America
300-acre theme park with 17 roller coasters, plus the Hurricane Harbor water park next door.
Gurnee Mills
Simon-owned outlet and full-price center with nearly 200 stores including Bass Pro Shops, Primark, and a Marcus Theatres multiplex.
Des Plaines River Trail
Multi-use trail running north-south through the village along the river, accessible from Gowe Park and other Gurnee Park District sites.
No Metra in Gurnee
Closest stations are Waukegan (UP-N) about 6 miles east and Grayslake (MD-N) about 7 miles southwest.
What’s close
Gurnee sits in central Lake County, north of Libertyville and south of Waukegan, with I-94 splitting the village roughly in half north-south.
- I-94 and Route 132 interchange
- Anchors Six Flags Great America, Gurnee Mills, and most large-format retail in the village.
- Des Plaines River corridor
- Runs north-south through Gurnee and carries the Des Plaines River Trail along its banks.
- Waukegan Metra station
- UP-N line, about 6 miles east at 95 N Spring Street in Waukegan. The nearest commuter rail option for most Gurnee residents.
- Vista Medical Center East
- Trauma II acute-care hospital at 1324 N Sheridan Road in Waukegan, about 10 minutes east.
- Bittersweet Golf Club
- Village-owned 18-hole public course at 875 Almond Road, par 72 at 6,751 yards with a lighted driving range.
- Naval Station Great Lakes
- U.S. Navy's primary boot camp, about 10 miles east near Lake Michigan.
What it’s actually like to live here
Day to day life in Gurnee splits between the retail and entertainment strip along Grand Avenue and the quieter residential subdivisions north and west of it. Most households live in detached single-family homes built between the late 1980s and mid-2000s in neighborhoods like Hunt Club Farms, Stonebrook, Woods of Stonebrook, and Bittersweet Woods. The Gurnee Park District runs 28 park sites, the Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center, the FitNation 75,000-square-foot fitness center, and the village-owned Bittersweet Golf Club, which gives families plenty to do without driving south.
Commuting is car-dominant. Gurnee has no Metra station of its own, so train riders drive east to Waukegan for the UP-N line or southwest to Grayslake for the MD-N. I-94 access is the real selling point, with O'Hare about 32 miles south and the Loop about 46 miles. The Des Plaines River Trail gives runners and cyclists a long north-south corridor through Lake County, and Six Flags, Gurnee Mills, and the Marcus Theatres complex give teenagers and visiting family members a built-in weekend agenda.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Gurnee 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 Gurnee.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D121Grades 9 to 12
Warren Township High School District 121
Schools serving the area
- Warren Township HS - O'Plaine Campus (9-10)
- Warren Township HS - Almond Campus (11-12)
Single high school operated on two campuses. District covers all or part of Gurnee, Beach Park, Gages Lake, Grandwood Park, Grayslake, Millburn, Old Mill Creek, Park City, Third Lake, Wadsworth, Waukegan, and Wildwood.
- D50Grades Pre-K to 8
Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50
Schools serving the area
- Woodland Primary
- Woodland Elementary
- Woodland Intermediate
- Woodland Middle School
Serves the western and northern portions of Gurnee. One of the largest elementary districts in Illinois at roughly 4,500 to 5,000 students across about 33 square miles.
- D56Grades Pre-K to 8
Gurnee School District 56
Schools serving the area
- Spaulding School
- Prairie Trail School
- Viking Middle School
- River Trail School
Serves portions of central Gurnee with about 1,900 students across four schools. The Gurnee village is split between D50 and D56 by address; confirm before writing an offer.
Around town
What there is to do in Gurnee.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Family
Six Flags Great America
300-acre theme park with 17 roller coasters, family-themed areas, and the Hurricane Harbor water park next door.
- Shopping
Gurnee Mills
Simon-owned outlet and full-price center with nearly 200 stores including Bass Pro Shops, Primark, H&M, and a Marcus Theatres multiplex.
- Parks
Des Plaines River Trail
Packed-gravel multi-use trail along the Des Plaines River, with a Gurnee access point at Gowe Park (4621 McClure Ave).
- Parks
Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center
Gurnee Park District outdoor aquatic center at 900 N Hunt Club Road with zero-depth entry, seven slides, lap lanes, and sand volleyball.
- Family
Bittersweet Golf Club
Village-owned 18-hole public course at 875 Almond Road, par 72 at 6,751 yards with a lighted driving range and short-game practice area.
- Culture
Gurnee Park District
Operates 28 park sites plus Viking Park Community Center and FitNation, with programming from dance to gymnastics to senior activities.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Gurnee.
DriveBy car
- Routes: I-94 (Tri-State Tollway) · IL 132 (Grand Avenue) · IL 21 (Milwaukee Avenue) · US 41
- O'Hare Airport: ~37 min
- Chicago Loop: ~63 min
By the numbers
Gurnee taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
2.75%
effective avg
Sales tax
8.50%
combined
Median sold price
$370,000
MRED · last 12 mo (461 sales)
Median household income
$119,628
ACS
How Gurnee got here
A bit of history.
The first settlers arrived in what is now Gurnee in 1835 along the Des Plaines River, then known as the Aux Plaines. Many came from Warren, New York. Warren Township was formally organized in 1850 and named for Major Joseph Warren, killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The original hamlet was called Wentworth after Chicago mayor and congressman John Wentworth, and the early commercial center grew up around the O'Plaine Tavern.
The settlement was renamed Gurnee Station after Walter S. Gurnee, the 14th mayor of Chicago and a director of the railroad that agreed to put a stop there. The village incorporated as Gurnee on May 8, 1928. Growth stayed modest until the late 20th century, when two anchor developments at the I-94 / Grand Avenue interchange reshaped the village. Marriott's Great America (now Six Flags Great America) opened in 1976, and Gurnee Mills opened as an outlet mall in 1991. Those two projects, combined with I-94 corridor expansion, drove the residential boom that built most of the subdivisions standing today.
The questions buyers actually ask
Gurnee FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Gurnee. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- Which high school do Gurnee kids attend?
- Almost all Gurnee students attend Warren Township High School in District 121. Warren uses a two-campus model: freshmen and sophomores go to the O'Plaine Road campus, juniors and seniors go to the Almond Road campus. There is only one public high school for the village.
- Is the elementary district the same across all of Gurnee?
- No. The village is split. Most of Gurnee, especially the western and northern subdivisions, is in Woodland CCSD 50, which feeds Warren. The older central section is in Gurnee SD 56, which also feeds Warren. When you tour a house, confirm the elementary district by address, not by ZIP.
- Does Gurnee have a Metra station?
- No. The nearest Metra options are the Waukegan station on the UP-N line (about 6 miles east) and the Grayslake station on the MD-N line (about 7 miles southwest). Gurnee is a car-commute suburb for most workers, with I-94 doing the heavy lifting south to O'Hare and the city.
- How much of a tax hit does Gurnee carry?
- The median effective property tax rate in Gurnee runs around 2.75 percent per Ownwell's Lake County data. The combined sales tax is 8.5 percent per Avalara. Plan on a property tax bill of roughly $9,000 to $11,000 on a $375,000 home and underwrite accordingly.
- What is it like living near Six Flags and Gurnee Mills?
- Day to day, less than you would expect. Most homes sit a few miles north or west of the I-94 / Grand Avenue interchange where the entertainment district is concentrated. Summer Saturdays and Halloween Fright Fest weekends bring real traffic on Grand Avenue, Hunt Club Road, and the I-94 ramps. If you avoid the immediate corridor, you mostly notice the fireworks at night.
- Where should families look first for single-family homes?
- The most active family-home pockets are Hunt Club Farms, Stonebrook (including Woods of Stonebrook and Stonebrook Estates), and Bittersweet Woods. All built late 1980s through early 2000s, all feeding Woodland 50 then Warren, mostly between Hunt Club Road and Almond Road north of Grand Avenue.
- What is the commute really like to O'Hare and downtown?
- Plan on about 37 minutes to O'Hare in light traffic, but I-94 from the north suburbs can double that in a Tuesday morning rush. Downtown Loop is around 60 minutes off-peak. If you are commuting to the Loop daily, most Gurnee residents drive to Waukegan or Grayslake and take Metra rather than fight I-94 all the way in.
Nearby
Towns next to Gurnee.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the places that border Gurnee.
Your local agent
Joe knows Gurnee
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
- Gurnee 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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