Is Frankfort, IL a Good Place to Live? Moving to Frankfort: Taxes, Schools and Commute

You'll notice it the first time you drive through Frankfort, IL. Upscale suburban charm that never goes out of style. Bigger lots, because the village requires them. And a downtown close enough that a good weekend doesn't need a drive. The Old Plank Road Trail runs right through town, and this is a village that takes real pride in its parks and its community events. It's what people picture when they say upscale suburban living.

The village is deliberate about how it grows. Here's the one thing you'll miss if you aren't looking for it.

A brand-new house here sold with an $857 property tax bill on its record. Two years later, the bill was $17,296.

Is Frankfort, IL a good place to live?

If those are the features you're looking for, you won't find many places that do it better. Frankfort fits you if you can carry a $549,900 median price with room to spare and you want Lincoln-Way East on your address. The catch isn't the tax rate, which is ordinary for this part of Will County. It's that a big house times an ordinary rate is still a big bill, and a newer house may not be showing you its real one yet. Price that in before you fall for a street.

How I rate Frankfort

• Price ★. Why: $549,900 median sold price over the last 12 months on 305 sales, 29.5 percent above the $424,500 median of the towns I cover (October 2026).
• Property taxes ★★★. Why: about 2.67 percent median before exemptions, from the Will County Clerk's 2025 composite rates for the village's Frankfort Township tax codes divided by three (they run 2.51 to 2.85 percent).
• Schools ★★★★★. Why: Lincoln-Way East is rated Exemplary on the 2025 Illinois Report Card, with ELA 74.7, math 66.1 and science 70.5 percent proficient against state high school averages of 51.7, 39.3 and 48.7.
• Parks and outdoor recreation ★★★★. Why: Frankfort Park District lists 19 parks, runs an indoor facility (Founders Community Center) and connects straight to the Old Plank Road Trail. It's a boundary case: five stars needs a large district, 500+ acres or 30+ parks, and 19 parks with no published total acreage doesn't establish that.
• Dining and nightlife ★★★★★. Why (judgment): a walkable historic downtown, sit-down to smaller chains, a brewery in town, the trail right there and plenty of downtown parking.
• Chicago access by car ★★★★. Why: about 11 minutes (3.9 miles) from Village Hall to the I-80 and LaGrange Road interchange, and 36.1 to 42.0 driving miles to Daley Plaza depending on route (36.5 via I-57). Eleven minutes sits just past the four-star line of about 10, so it's a boundary case.
• Walkability ★. Why: Walk Score pins of 71 downtown (20 Kansas St, Old Towne), 13 in Heritage Knolls (Princeton Circle) and 6 in Prestwick (Golf Club Lane). Downtown walks. Most of the housing doesn't.
• Chicago access by train ★. Why: no Metra station in Frankfort. The nearest is Hickory Creek on the Rock Island, about 4 miles from downtown, in Mokena.

Every one of those thresholds is published, so you can check my work, see what each star actually means, and disagree with it. Three of the categories rest on judgment rather than data, and there's one thing I won't rate at all.

What makes Frankfort's parks and downtown stand out?

Start with the parks, because the opening wasn't exaggerating. Frankfort Park District lists 19 parks on its own site, and you'll end up at Commissioners Park more than any of them. It's 60 acres with a splash pad, a Bark Park, a lighted sledding hill and a 1-mile trail, and the district says the Fort Frankfort playground rebuild is coming soon. Main Park gives you 25 more acres and a lighted ice rink. You'll want to know about that splash pad before summer, since free splash pads in the southwest suburbs aren't all free.

When it's too cold for any of that, you've got Founders Community Center at 140 Oak St, with a gym, a dance studio and classrooms. That's the piece a lot of towns this size don't have. And the Old Plank Road Trail connects right into the district. It's 22 paved miles from Joliet to Chicago Heights, and it leads any list of the best paved bike trails in the southwest suburbs.

Now, a detail that matters when you shop. Frankfort Square Park District is a separate district, not the village's park district with a different name. Village parcels actually sit in four park districts (Frankfort, Frankfort Square, Mokena and New Lenox), and some don't sit in any. Your tax bill tells you which one you'd be paying.

Downtown is the other half. It's walkable, it's historic and you won't fight for parking. Trail's Edge Brewing sits right on Kansas Street, and it's still pouring, which isn't a given after what happened to the southwest suburb breweries. Fat Rosie's covers tacos and margaritas. When you want a sit-down night, Dancing Marlin is out on LaGrange Road. And on Sundays from late April to late October, you've got the Frankfort Country Market downtown, one of the anchors among the farmers markets in the southwest suburbs.

How are the schools in Frankfort, IL?

Two elementary districts serve most of the village. Frankfort 157-C runs Grand Prairie (Commendable), Chelsea (Exemplary) and Hickory Creek Middle School (Exemplary). Summit Hill 161 runs Rogus, Indian Trail and Walker (all Commendable) and Summit Hill Junior High (Exemplary). Both feed Lincoln-Way East, at 201 Colorado Ave in Frankfort.

East is the five-star row. It's Exemplary on the 2025 Report Card, and it beats the state by more than 20 points in ELA, math and science.

Here's the part you'll want to check twice. Some village tax codes sit in Peotone 207-U, and some sit in Crete-Monee 201-U. Those aren't Lincoln-Way addresses at all. So don't assume your high school from the mailing city. Look up the specific address you're considering.

Then there's the money angle. Lincoln-Way District 210 has more than one front door. Frankfort's trailing 12-month median is $549,900. Mokena's is $500,000. New Lenox's is $470,000. Manhattan's is $444,490. That's the same high school district with over $100,000 between the top door and the bottom one. It doesn't make Frankfort the wrong choice. It means you should know what the address is costing you, which is the part most people skip when they work out how to evaluate a school district when buying a home.

One more thing about the numbers. ISBE changed its cut scores in August 2025, so the 2025 results don't compare to earlier years. The 2026 Report Card usually lands around October 30, so you'll want to check your school yourself at illinoisreportcard.com. Treat GreatSchools and Niche as aggregators, not the source.

What do homes in Frankfort actually cost?

Over the last 12 months, Frankfort's median sold price was $549,900 on 305 sales. That's the number the price star reads, and it's 29.5 percent above the $424,500 median of the towns I cover (October 2026).

The most recent month tells you a different story, so here's how to read it. RPR's September 2026 report shows a median sold price of $434,950 on 20 sales. That's a small-sample month, and 20 closings can swing on which houses happened to close. Homes sold at 99.6 percent of list, in a median of 8 days, with 2.76 months of inventory.

Now look at what you'd be shopping, where the median list price was $695,000. There were 69 active listings against 20 sales, and listings have climbed from 32 in February. That's a loosening market, and it changes whether you're in a buyer's market or a seller's market on the house you want.

Why would list run $260,000 above sold? They're different mixes. What's for sale right now skews bigger and newer than what happened to close in September. It's not a price drop. It's a composition difference, which is why comps on the house you're looking at beat any town-wide median.

Lot size is part of what you're buying here. Frankfort's zoning ordinance sets a minimum lot size for single-family homes, and in most of the village's residential districts it's 15,000 square feet or more. The historic district and planned developments are the exceptions, so ask which district a house sits in before you assume the yard.

Prices move every week, so check the current Frankfort market data before you lean on any number here.

What will property taxes run in Frankfort?

Start with the rate, from one source on one day. The Will County Clerk's 2025 rates (payable 2026) put the village's Frankfort Township tax codes at composites of 7.5307 to 8.5533. A composite applies to assessed value, which is one third of market value, so you divide by three. That gives you 2.51 to 2.85 percent before exemptions, with a median of 2.67 percent.

Same source, same day, for the neighbors:

• Mokena: median 2.57 percent
• New Lenox (code 1509): 2.63 percent
• Homer Glen: median 2.33 percent

Frankfort's rate is ordinary for this cluster. Your bill's big because the house is. A tax bill is rate times house. At 2.67 percent before exemptions, the $549,900 median works out to about $14,682 a year. At New Lenox's 2.63 percent on its $470,000 median, it's about $12,361. That's illustrative math, not a bill, but the gap you're paying is the house, not the rate. You can run that trade against your own payment in How Much Home, which takes your county and a property tax rate. And what you'll learn about Illinois property taxes is that the rate gets the attention while the assessment does the damage.

The address trap

Frankfort has its own version. The village also has tax codes in Green Garden Township, in Peotone 207-U, at about 1.86 to 1.92 percent. It has codes in Monee Township, in Crete-Monee 201-U, at about 3.00 to 3.07 percent. You'd see the same village name on your mailing address. You'd see more than a full point between the rates.

Only some addresses sit in those codes. So check the tax code on the actual bill before you write an offer. It tells you your school district, your park district and your rate in one line.

The new-construction trap

Here's the house from the opening. It's in tax code 1906 (Frankfort 157-C, Frankfort Park District). It sold new in spring 2023, and the most recent bill on its record was $857.

Here's its record from the Will County Treasurer:

Look at the building row, and you'll see it reads zero in 2022. That $857 wasn't a discount on a new house. It was a bill on a lot with no house on it. Then the building shows up partway, then in full, and the bill climbs about twentyfold in two years. The building line accounts for about 92 percent of the jump in assessed value.

Now look at the rate row, because it went down every single year. The rate never caused any of this. And the exemption line shows the owners had their exemptions on the bill the whole way up. It still crossed $18,000.

That's the row you'll want to check on any newer house you look at. On a two- or three-year-old house, ask whether the listing's tax bill is the full one yet.

Your lender qualifies a new build on an estimated tax figure. Then your escrow account gets reanalyzed against the real bill, and your payment changes. That's why your escrow payment goes up on a house whose rate never moved.

The bill that's still catching up

There's a quieter version on resales. A 2021 build in the same tax code sold in May 2026 for $750,000. The county's 2025 assessment carries it at about $692,000. That gap isn't a discount you got. It's assessment lag.

Will County's next general reassessment is 2027, and township assessors can adjust values in any year between cycles. So the bill you see today is a snapshot, not a promise. If you're buying near the top of the market, plan for your bill to catch up to your price.

You can soften the number. Check Will County property tax exemptions for the ones you qualify for, and know the rules for appealing your property taxes in Will County before your notice shows up.

What is the commute from Frankfort really like?

There's no Metra station in Frankfort. Your nearest is Hickory Creek on the Rock Island, at 9430 Hickory Creek Dr in Mokena. It's fare zone 4, it's got 1,106 daily parking spaces, and it's about 4 miles from downtown Frankfort. It isn't a terminus, so you're boarding a train that's already picked people up.

So say your number out loud. You've got the drive to Hickory Creek, parking, a buffer, then the train on Metra's current schedule. The total is your commute, and it's longer than the schedule says.

By car, it's simpler. You're about 11 minutes from Village Hall to the I-80 and LaGrange Road interchange. Daley Plaza is 36.1 to 42.0 driving miles depending on route, 36.5 via I-57. If your shift doesn't line up with a train, that's your real commute.

Is Frankfort a good place to buy for the next 5 to 10 years?

The stability numbers are strong. The Census Bureau's 2025 estimate puts Frankfort at 21,365 people, up from 20,296 in 2020. Median household income is $154,375. And 94.8 percent of homes are owner-occupied.

Growth is under construction, too. The village's development map shows the Reserve of Copper Creek, Country Crossing Phase 1, Linden Grove, the Misty Creek townhomes and the Cedarhurst cottages. That's more choice for you as a buyer. It's also more new-construction tax bills that haven't caught up yet.

Crime numbers come from the FBI Crime Data Explorer, the same source used for every town covered here. Frankfort Police reported 8 violent offenses in 2025, 37.4 per 100,000 people, against a national rate of 329.6. Property offenses were 131, or 612.8 per 100,000, against 1,552.3 nationally. Eight's a small number, so one or two incidents move the rate a lot. You can pull the agency yourself at cde.ucr.cjis.gov and look.

There's one cost you'll want to plan for. The village's water comes from wells in a shallow aquifer, and it's hard, so the village's own water page recommends a softener setting of 25 grains per gallon. If your house doesn't have one, plan for it.

So is it a good five- to ten-year buy? If your payment, your real tax bill and your reserves all hold up with room left over, getting the house right here is a decision you'll stop thinking about. If any of the three is a stretch, Frankfort makes that stretch expensive.

The Bottom Line

Frankfort delivers what you're coming for: Exemplary schools, a downtown you can walk, a park district with real depth and a trail through the middle of town. The rate isn't your problem. The size of the house is, and so is a newer house that hasn't shown you its full bill. Know your tax code, read the building row and plan for the catch-up. Do that, and you'll find Frankfort's a hard place to beat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Frankfort a good place to buy a house right now?

Inventory is loosening. RPR's September 2026 report shows 69 active listings against 20 sales, up from 32 listings in February. That gives you more room to negotiate than you'd have had in the spring. Your tax math still decides whether a specific house works for you.

How much does a house cost in Frankfort?

The median sold price over the last 12 months was $549,900 on 305 sales (October 2026). The September 2026 median was $434,950 on just 20 sales, so you're better off leaning on the 12-month number. Median list price was $695,000, because what's for sale skews bigger and newer.

What are property taxes like in Frankfort?

The Will County Clerk's 2025 composites for the village's Frankfort Township codes work out to 2.51 to 2.85 percent before exemptions, with a median of 2.67 percent. That's ordinary for the area. Some village addresses sit in other townships at about 1.86 or about 3.07 percent, so you'll want to check the tax code on the bill.

How long is the commute from Frankfort to Chicago?

By car, it's 36.1 to 42.0 driving miles to Daley Plaza depending on route, with I-80 about 11 minutes from Village Hall. By train, you drive about 4 miles to Hickory Creek station in Mokena and ride the Rock Island. You'll add the drive, parking and a buffer to the train time.

How are the schools in Frankfort?

Most of the village feeds Lincoln-Way East, rated Exemplary on the 2025 Illinois Report Card. Frankfort 157-C and Summit Hill 161 are the elementary districts. Some village tax codes sit in Peotone 207-U or Crete-Monee 201-U instead, so verify the specific address you're looking at.

What county is Frankfort, IL in?

Almost all of Frankfort is in Will County, and the village says a small portion sits in Cook County. For a Will County address, taxes run through the Will County Clerk and Treasurer, and Will County reassesses on a four-year cycle, with the next general reassessment in 2027.

What is the sales tax in Frankfort, IL?

The Illinois Department of Revenue lists Frankfort's general merchandise sales tax at 8.25 percent as of October 2026. Qualifying groceries and qualifying drugs and medical appliances are taxed at 2 percent.

If you live in Frankfort and something here is off, tell me what I got wrong and I'll fix it.

Last updated: October 2026.

Set up a time if you want the real tax math on a specific Frankfort address before you make an offer on it.

Brian Wittman | Blue Jean Broker Real Estate | Mortgage | Life Insurance | Financial Literacy Based in Manhattan, IL | Serving the Chicago Suburbs

Brian Wittman is a licensed real estate broker (Real Broker LLC), mortgage loan originator (NMLS #2646598, NEXA Mortgage, LLC, Equal Housing Lender), and life insurance producer (Levinson & Associates). This article is for educational purposes only and is not financial, lending, tax, or legal advice, an offer, or a commitment to lend; all loans are subject to credit approval. Information is accurate as of the publication date; for current details and full disclosures, visit https://bluejeanbroker.com/disclosures.