Wadsworth · Lake County · IL
Homes for sale in
Wadsworth.
- Active listings
- 13
- Median list
- $880K
- Avg time on market
- 38 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Map data, Mapbox / OpenStreetMap contributors
Active listings
13 homes on the market
About the community
Living in Wadsworth.
Wadsworth is a village of roughly 3,500 residents in northeast Lake County, sitting along the Hunt Club Road and Wadsworth Road corridors between Gurnee and the Wisconsin border. The community is defined by its rural character, anchored by a one-acre minimum residential lot requirement and zoning that accommodates horses on larger parcels. The 975-acre Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve, home to 86-acre Sterling Lake and the Des Plaines River Trail, anchors the village's north end. Wadsworth sits within Newport Township, with portions reaching into Benton and Warren Townships, and most homes feed into Millburn Community Consolidated School District 24 for K-8 and Warren Township High School District 121. Despite the rural feel, the village is roughly an hour from downtown Chicago via U.S. Route 41 and Interstate 94.
At a glance
3,504 residents (2020 Census)
1,377 housing units. Population density about 354 per square mile, very low for Lake County.
Incorporated 1962
Named for Elisha Strong Wadsworth, a major stockholder of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad that ran through the area.
1-acre residential minimum
Codified into village zoning at incorporation. R-2 zoning permits horses on qualifying parcels, supporting the equestrian character.
Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve
975-acre Lake County preserve inside village limits with Sterling Lake, the Des Plaines River Trail, hiking, biking, and equestrian use.
Millburn D24 + Warren D121
Most addresses feed Millburn CCSD 24 for K-8 and Warren Township High School District 121 in Gurnee.
Median household income $101,307
Median family income $128,333. Median age 49.9, reflecting a stable, settled population.
Tempel Lipizzans
Adjacent Wadsworth Road property historically home to the largest privately owned herd of Lipizzan stallions in the world, with seasonal performances and stable tours.
U.S. 41 and I-94 nearby
U.S. Route 41 (Skokie Highway) and Interstate 94 (Tri-State Tollway) are both a short drive away. Loop is about 45 miles south.
What’s close
Wadsworth occupies a quiet pocket of northeast Lake County between Gurnee and the Wisconsin line, with the Des Plaines River corridor, Hunt Club Road, and Wadsworth Road as its main spines.
- Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve
- 975-acre Lake County preserve with Sterling Lake, the Des Plaines River Trail, hiking, biking, and horseback riding inside village limits.
- Hunt Club Road corridor
- Primary north-south spine connecting Wadsworth to Gurnee and the IL-173 / U.S. 41 / I-94 cluster to the south.
- Newport Township
- Wadsworth is the largest village in Newport Township, which also covers Old Mill Creek, Millburn, and Russell.
- Tempel Farms / Tempel Lipizzans
- Adjacent property on Wadsworth Road historically home to the largest privately owned Lipizzan herd in the world, with performances and stable tours.
- Six Flags Great America and Gurnee Mills
- Both sit just south in Gurnee, roughly a 10-15 minute drive via Hunt Club Road.
- Large-lot subdivisions
- Village zoning enforces a one-acre residential minimum, producing low-density neighborhoods with mature trees and equestrian-friendly parcels.
What it’s actually like to live here
Day-to-day life in Wadsworth is closer to a country township than a Chicago suburb. The one-acre residential minimum, combined with R-2 zoning that permits horses on qualifying parcels, has produced a streetscape of weeping willows, pines, and post oaks set back from quiet two-lane roads. Hobby farms, riding rings, and pole barns are common, and Tempel Farms next door reinforces the village's long-standing equestrian identity.
Despite the rural feel, day-to-day errands sit close by. Gurnee Mills, Six Flags Great America, and the big-box retail along Grand Avenue are roughly ten minutes south, and Hunt Club Road connects Wadsworth quickly to U.S. Route 41 and Interstate 94. The Des Plaines River Trail through Van Patten Woods supplies miles of hiking, biking, and horseback riding inside the village itself, and the median age of nearly 50 reflects a stable, settled population with deep ties to the area.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Wadsworth 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 Wadsworth.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D24Grades Pre-K to 8
Millburn Community Consolidated School District 24
Schools serving the area
- Millburn Elementary School
- Millburn Middle School
Serves parts of Wadsworth, Old Mill Creek, and Lindenhurst. Millburn Elementary is ranked in the top 20 percent of Illinois public schools.
- D121Grades 9 to 12
Warren Township High School District 121
Schools serving the area
- Warren Township HS - O'Plaine Campus
- Warren Township HS - Almond Campus
Splits across the O'Plaine Road Campus (freshmen and sophomores) and the Almond Road Campus (juniors and seniors) in Gurnee. Serves Wadsworth, Gurnee, Beach Park, Old Mill Creek, and others. A few eastern Wadsworth addresses may feed Beach Park CCSD 3 / Zion-Benton THSD 126 instead, so verify per address.
Around town
What there is to do in Wadsworth.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve
975-acre preserve in Wadsworth with hiking, biking, fishing at Sterling Lake, picnic shelters, a youth campground, and access to the Des Plaines River Trail.
- Parks
Sterling Lake
86-acre lake inside Van Patten Woods with a wheelchair-accessible floating dock, two fishing piers, and a launch for canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards.
- Culture
The Tempel Lipizzans
Classical dressage facility on Wadsworth Road historically home to the largest privately owned herd of Lipizzan stallions in the world, with summer performances and stable tours.
- Parks
Des Plaines River Trail
Long-distance crushed-limestone trail that bisects Van Patten Woods and runs the length of Lake County, open to hiking, biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing.
- Family
Six Flags Great America
Major Lake County amusement park with roller coasters and DC Universe theming, roughly 10 minutes south of Wadsworth in Gurnee.
- Shopping
Gurnee Mills
Large outlet and value retail center on Grand Avenue in Gurnee, a short drive south of Wadsworth via Hunt Club Road.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Wadsworth.
DriveBy car
- Routes: U.S. Route 41 (Skokie Highway) · I-94 / Tri-State Tollway · IL Route 173 · Hunt Club Road · Wadsworth Road
- O'Hare Airport: ~60 min
- Chicago Loop: ~58 min
- Gurnee: ~10 min
By the numbers
Wadsworth taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
3.18%
effective avg
Sales tax
8.50%
combined
Median sold price
$427,500
MRED · last 12 mo (78 sales)
Median household income
$101,307
ACS
How Wadsworth got here
A bit of history.
The Wadsworth area was settled comparatively late among Lake County communities. Yankee farmers followed the upper Des Plaines River into the area's oak groves and meadows in the mid-1840s, and a sawmill had already been built on Mill Creek in 1835 by Jacob Miller. The settlement took its name from Elisha Strong Wadsworth, a Connecticut-born Chicago businessman and major stockholder in the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad whose line ran through the community.
Although the area was farmed for more than a century, Wadsworth did not formally incorporate as a village until 1962. From the start the village deliberately codified a rural, low-density character into its zoning, requiring a one-acre minimum for residential lots and allowing larger parcels to accommodate horses and small farm operations. That intentional planning, paired with the protected open space of Van Patten Woods and Tempel Farms next door, has preserved the equestrian and large-lot feel that still distinguishes Wadsworth from its more developed neighbors in Gurnee and Waukegan.
The questions buyers actually ask
Wadsworth FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Wadsworth. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- When was Wadsworth, IL incorporated?
- The Village of Wadsworth was incorporated in 1962, even though the surrounding farms and the sawmill on Mill Creek date back to the 1830s and 1840s. The community is named for Elisha Strong Wadsworth, a major stockholder of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad that ran through the area.
- What school districts serve Wadsworth, IL?
- Most of Wadsworth feeds into Millburn Community Consolidated School District 24 for K-8 and Warren Township High School District 121 in Gurnee for grades 9-12. WTHS splits underclassmen and upperclassmen between its O'Plaine Road and Almond Road campuses. Some eastern-edge addresses may feed Beach Park CCSD 3 / Zion-Benton THSD 126, so always verify per address.
- Is Wadsworth, IL a good place for horse owners?
- Yes. Wadsworth was deliberately zoned to preserve a rural, equestrian-friendly character, with a one-acre minimum for residential lots and R-2 zoning that allows horses on qualifying parcels. The nationally known Tempel Lipizzans facility sits just outside the village on Wadsworth Road.
- Does Wadsworth have a Metra station?
- No. The nearest Metra stops are Waukegan and Zion on the Union Pacific North (UP-N) line, both a short drive east of the village. Most UP-N trains terminate at Waukegan.
- How far is Wadsworth from downtown Chicago?
- Wadsworth is about 45 miles from downtown Chicago. Drive time is roughly an hour via U.S. Route 41 or Interstate 94 under normal conditions.
- What is the property tax rate in Wadsworth, IL?
- Wadsworth's median effective property tax rate is around 3.1 to 3.3 percent, with a median annual property tax bill of roughly $9,329. That sits above the Lake County average, which is itself among the highest in Illinois.
Nearby
Towns next to Wadsworth.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the places that border Wadsworth.
Your local agent
Joe knows Wadsworth
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
- Wadsworth specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Thinking of selling?
What's your home actually worth?
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- Pricing range with comp-by-comp logic
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