Lake County, IL real estate

What the numbers say

Lake County, IL real estate at a glance

By AstroCore · Realtor.com, US Census and Freddie Mac data

In September 2026, the median home in Lake County listed for $461,000, up 2.5% from a year earlier. That is 42% above the Illinois median of $324,950.

Homes spent a median of 33 days on the market, faster than 35 days a year ago. That makes Lake County the #5 fastest-selling of 32 Illinois counties we track.

Homeowners in Lake County pay a median of $8,923 a year in property taxes on a median home value of $345,700, an effective rate of about 2.58%. The Illinois average is 2.01%, which makes Lake County the #102 lowest-tax of 102 counties in the state with published tax data.

Renters pay a median of $1,477 a month, and $1,457 for a two-bedroom. At today's prices a typical home costs about 26 times a year's rent, which generally favors renting over buying in the short term.

With 20% down and today's 7.24% average 30-year rate, the monthly payment on a $461,000 home here comes to about $3,697 including property tax and insurance. Lenders typically want that to be under 28% of income, which works out to roughly $158,000 a year (the median household here earns $110,416).