Sycamore · DeKalb County · IL
Homes for sale in
Sycamore.
- Active listings
- 1
- Median list
- $1.40M
- Avg time on market
- 424 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Map data, Mapbox / OpenStreetMap contributors
Active listings
1 home on the market
About the community
Living in Sycamore.
Sycamore is the county seat of DeKalb County, Illinois, a community of about 18,600 residents on the Route 64 corridor roughly 54 miles west of Chicago O'Hare. The city is built around the 1905 DeKalb County Courthouse and a 99-acre downtown Historic District listed on the National Register since 1978, with more than 180 contributing buildings. Every October the town hosts the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival, an event that became official in 1962 and remains the city's signature weekend. Families are served by Sycamore Community Unit School District 427, which spans more than 80 square miles across Sycamore, Cortland, Genoa, Clare, and parts of Maple Park. There is no Metra service in Sycamore; the closest commuter rail is the Elburn UP-W terminus about 25 minutes east on Illinois Route 64.
At a glance
DeKalb County seat
Sycamore has been the county seat of DeKalb County since 1837 and the 1905 Classical Revival courthouse still anchors the downtown square.
~18,600 residents
18,577 at the 2020 census, up from 17,519 in 2010. Roughly the same size as nearby Geneva.
Sycamore CUSD 427
Sycamore High School plus Sycamore Middle School and the elementary network. The district covers more than 80 square miles across five communities.
Pumpkin Festival since 1962
Late-October community festival with a 1,000-plus pumpkin lawn display on the courthouse square, parade, carnivals, and craft shows.
99-acre historic district
Downtown Sycamore is on the National Register of Historic Places (since 1978), with about 187 contributing buildings spanning Victorian, Italianate, and Queen Anne styles.
IL 64 + IL 23
Route 64 runs east-west through the south side of the square; Route 23 runs north-south through the heart of downtown. I-88 sits about 8 miles south at DeKalb.
Quiet, agrarian footprint
Surrounded by working farmland with the city of DeKalb and Northern Illinois University immediately south, putting big-college amenities a short drive away.
No Metra service
Closest commuter rail is the Elburn UP-W terminus about 25 minutes east on IL 64, the western end of the line into Chicago Ogilvie.
What’s close
Sycamore sits along Illinois Route 64 in northern DeKalb County, with Illinois Route 23 running north-south through downtown. The city is roughly 54 miles west of Chicago O'Hare.
- Route 64 corridor
- Route 64 connects east through Maple Park, Elburn, and St. Charles to the Fox River and on to Chicago. Sycamore is the western anchor of the corridor.
- South neighbor
- The city of DeKalb and Northern Illinois University sit immediately south, putting big-college amenities a short drive away.
- Interstate access
- I-88 is about 8 miles south at the DeKalb interchange; I-90 is about 25 miles northeast via IL 23 to the Belvidere Oasis.
- Drive to Chicago
- Roughly 54 miles to O'Hare and 65 miles to the Loop via I-88 or IL 64.
- Township footprint
- Sycamore sits inside Sycamore Township in DeKalb County, with the county seat function drawing commuters from across the county for court, recording, and county-government business.
What it’s actually like to live here
Daily life in Sycamore centers on the downtown courthouse square and State Street, where the city actively maintains and restores Victorian-era storefronts through a matching-grant Downtown and Gateway Improvement Program. The Historic District boundary runs roughly from Exchange Street on the north to Elm Street on the south, with Governor and Sacramento Streets bracketing the east and west sides. Residents walk to local shops, coffee, restaurants, and the public library, and the entire downtown becomes the festival fairgrounds for the Pumpkin Festival every fall.
The Sycamore Park District operates 19 parks plus a splash fountain, dog park, community center, public golf course, and community pool. Old Mill Park is a 26-plus-acre green space with trails and water features near the heart of town. Buyers in Sycamore tend to be families who want the courthouse-square small-town feel, NIU and the city of DeKalb a short drive south, and Sycamore CUSD 427 schools, all at a lower cost basis than the Fox River Tri-Cities.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Sycamore 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 Sycamore.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D427Grades Pre-K - 12
Sycamore Community Unit School District 427
Schools serving the area
- Sycamore High School
- Sycamore Middle School
- North Elementary
- West Elementary
- South Prairie Elementary
- Southeast Elementary
CUSD 427 serves Sycamore plus portions of Maple Park, Cortland, Clare, and Genoa across more than 80 square miles. The district administration center is at 1947 Bethany Road. Always verify the school assignment for a specific address.
Around town
What there is to do in Sycamore.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Family
Sycamore Pumpkin Festival
Late-October festival running since 1962 with a 1,000-plus decorated pumpkin display on the courthouse square, parade, two carnivals, and craft shows.
- Culture
DeKalb County History Center
Local history museum at 1730 N Main Street on the historic Engh Farm. Exhibits, archives, and rotating programming on DeKalb County history.
- Parks
Old Mill Park
26-plus-acre Sycamore Park District green space with trails, water features, picnic areas, and connections through to downtown.
- Shopping
Downtown State Street
Victorian-era courthouse-square retail district with independent shops, restaurants, and the Sycamore Public Library all walkable.
- Culture
DeKalb County Courthouse
1905 Classical Revival civic anchor at Illinois Route 64 in the heart of the historic district. Working courthouse plus the symbolic civic center.
- Family
Citizens Memorial Sports Complex
Sycamore Park District athletic facility (renamed 2021) with diamond fields, multi-use turf, and tournament programming through the season.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Sycamore.
DriveBy car
- Routes: IL 64 (Route 64) · IL 23 · IL 38 (Roosevelt Road via DeKalb) · I-88 (south at DeKalb)
- O'Hare Airport: ~75 min
- Chicago Loop: ~90 min
- Elburn Metra (UP-W terminus): ~25 min
By the numbers
Sycamore taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
2.97%
effective avg
Sales tax
8.00%
combined
Median sold price
$616,500
MRED · last 12 mo (2 sales)
Median household income
$78,000
ACS
How Sycamore got here
A bit of history.
The first European settlers reached the Sycamore area in 1835, and by 1837 the location had been selected as the DeKalb County seat under its original name, Orange. The town site was platted that same year by James Waterman and Evans Wharry. Sycamore was incorporated as a village in 1858, and after the Civil War the arrival of the railroad fueled enough growth that the settlement was reincorporated as a city in 1869. The town grew along the Chicago and North Western corridor through the late 1800s, with the courthouse square as the civic and commercial anchor.
The current Classical Revival DeKalb County Courthouse was built in 1905 and fronts Illinois Route 64 on the south side of the square. In 1956, resident Wally Thurow began displaying decorated pumpkins on his front lawn, and in 1962 the Sycamore Lions Club helped turn that tradition into the official Sycamore Pumpkin Festival, now the town's largest civic event. The downtown core was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1978, with 187 contributing properties across 99 acres, making Sycamore one of the most architecturally intact small downtowns in northern Illinois.
The questions buyers actually ask
Sycamore FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Sycamore. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- Is Sycamore in Kane County or DeKalb County?
- Sycamore is the county seat of DeKalb County, not Kane. Some real estate feeds mistakenly tag Sycamore as Kane County because the city is at the western end of the IL-64 corridor that runs through Kane's Tri-Cities, but the city is fully inside DeKalb County.
- What school district serves Sycamore?
- Sycamore Community Unit School District 427 (CUSD 427) serves the city and parts of Cortland, Clare, Genoa, and Maple Park across more than 80 square miles. The district runs Sycamore High School, Sycamore Middle School, and a network of elementary schools.
- When is the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival?
- The festival runs each year in late October, organized by the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival Committee. Weekend events include the Lions Club Decorated Pumpkin Display with more than 1,000 entries, two carnivals, craft shows, and a Sunday parade.
- Does Sycamore have Metra service?
- No. There is no Metra station in Sycamore. Commuters typically drive about 25 minutes east on Illinois Route 64 to the Elburn UP-W terminus, the western end of the Union Pacific West line into Chicago Ogilvie Transportation Center.
- What are property taxes like in Sycamore?
- Sycamore's effective property tax rate runs around 2.97 percent of market value, slightly below the DeKalb County average. On a $300,000 home, that's roughly $8,900 a year. Always pull the actual tax bill for the specific address before writing an offer.
- How far is Sycamore from Chicago and O'Hare?
- Sycamore is about 54 miles from Chicago O'Hare via I-88 and Route 64, typically 75 minutes off-peak. Downtown Chicago is about 65 miles east, typically 90 minutes off-peak.
- How does Sycamore compare to DeKalb?
- DeKalb is the larger city and home to Northern Illinois University. Sycamore is the county seat, smaller, and built around the historic courthouse square. Many families prefer Sycamore for the small-town downtown and the CUSD 427 schools while still being a short drive from NIU events and the larger retail base in DeKalb.
Your local agent
Joe knows Sycamore
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
- Sycamore specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Thinking of selling?
What's your home actually worth?
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