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

by Brian Wittman

You've heard what people say about Lemont: big city amenities with a small town feel, natural topography, top rated schools, and a fun, cozy, limestone-lined downtown. That's why it's on your list, and you get all of it, plus top-notch outdoor recreation, easy access to two interstates, and more character for your dollar than other towns nearby.

With all the things you can see, here's the one you usually don't. Lemont's tax bill comes in higher than most of the towns around it, and you don't find out until it's time to make that payment.

The median bill runs about $8,680 a year. Orland Park has the higher tax rate, and its median bill is about $7,472.

Is Lemont, IL a good place to live?

Yes. Lemont lives up to what you've heard, as long as you're ready for the two things that come attached: the highest home prices in the area and a commute you're going to drive. That's the trade-off. It's sharper here than in any other town out here.

Lemont has one Metra station, with a handful of rush-hour trains and no weekend service. You'll need a car. If your commute depends on a train right now, this may not be your town, no matter how good the rest of it looks.

How I rate Lemont

Property taxes: ★★★★★
1.93 percent median effective rate, the lowest I've measured in the region; the star scores the rate, and the bill still runs higher than most neighbors
Schools: ★★★★★
District 210 carries an Exemplary designation, with all three subject areas well above state
Dining and nightlife: ★★★★★
A walkable downtown district with a brewery, a cocktail bar and independent restaurants inside it, plus a second cluster on Derby Road
Parks and outdoor recreation: ★★★★
25 parks and 160 plus acres under the park district with a full indoor complex, plus 6 miles of canal trail under the Village
Chicago access by car: ★★★★★
28 driving miles to the Loop by I-55, with an I-355 interchange at Lemont Road inside the village
Walkability: ★★
Downtown scores 76 on Walk Score, but Covington Knolls scores 27 and Woodglen Lane scores 8
Chicago access by train: ★
One Heritage Corridor station, rush-hour trains only, and no weekend service
Price relative to the area: ★
$690,000 median sold price over the last 12 months, 62 percent above the $424,500 median of the towns I cover (October 2026)

A one star train rating with a station in town looks like a mistake, so here's why. The Heritage Corridor runs a handful of trains each way at rush hour and nothing midday or on weekends. That's the one-star band. If your schedule isn't a strict 9 to 5, public transit can't serve it.

On walkability: Walk Score publishes no single number for Lemont, so here's what it does publish. Downtown scores 76, which is genuinely walkable, especially along the Stephen, Front, and Main Street corridor. Covington Knolls scores 27. Woodglen Lane scores 8. Most of Lemont's housing looks like the second two, not the first. Two stars rates the town, not its best block.

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

What do homes in Lemont actually cost?

Let's talk data, because it's more than anywhere else on my list, and the gap isn't small.

Over the last 12 months, the median single family home in Lemont sold for $690,000. That's across 198 sales, and it's the number the price rating uses, so it's the one you should anchor on.

The last two months show how much a single month moves. August's median closed at $807,000. September's came in at $741,000, at 99.7 percent of asking, in a median of eight days. One month is a small slice, so don't anchor on either one.

Now here's what that median hides. In Lemont, the year a house was built moves its price a lot. Over the last 12 months:

Built in the 1950s and 1960s: about $420,000 to $460,000
Built in the 1980s: about $600,000
Built in the 1990s: about $745,000
Built since 2020: about $925,000

So a town wide median can't tell you what your money buys. Comps on the specific street will.

One more piece of the picture points the other direction. Months of supply climbed to 3.06 in September, up about 21 percent from August alone, and the median active listing slipped to $766,377. That's still a seller's market, but it's loosening, and buyers have more to choose from than they did over the summer.

For current listings and where prices sit today, here's the current Lemont market data.

What will property taxes run in Lemont?

This is the good news, with a catch. The rate is the lowest I've measured out here. The bill isn't.

Lemont's median effective property tax rate runs about 1.93 percent. The median bill is roughly $8,680 a year. Now compare Orland Park, also in Cook County: about 2.27 percent, with a median bill around $7,472.

Read those two lines again. Lemont has the lower rate and the higher bill. That isn't a contradiction. It's the whole lesson: the rate is not the bill. The rate times what the land and the house are worth is the bill. A lower percentage of a much more expensive house is still more money every year, and it comes out of the same paycheck as your mortgage.

Go one town the other way and it flips again. Homer Glen, across the line in Will County, runs about 2.50 percent with a median bill near $9,912. Higher rate, higher bill, cheaper houses. That's three towns within a short drive and three different combinations. You can't predict any of them from the rate alone. It's the single most common thing buyers out here get wrong, and it's why you should know about Illinois property taxes in the first place.

The Lemont address trap

This one is specific to Lemont, and it could be the most expensive thing on this page to get wrong.

The Village of Lemont sits almost entirely in Cook County. At the 2020 census, the village had 6,773 housing units, and 6,770 of them were in Cook. The Will and DuPage pieces held three houses and nine people combined. So inside the village, the county isn't really an issue.

But the Lemont mailing address reaches well past the village line, into unincorporated Will and DuPage County. A listing can say Lemont, IL 60439 and still sit in a different county. That means a different assessor, a different appeal process, and a different set of taxing bodies.

Here's what that does to your money. Lemont addresses in DuPage County run about 1.84 percent. Inside the village, in Cook, it's about 1.93 percent. In Will County, it's about 2.42 percent.

Put the same $400,000 house in each one. In DuPage, you'd pay roughly $613 a month in property taxes. In Cook, roughly $643. In Will, roughly $807. That's about $193 a month, or $2,320 a year, between the best and worst version of the identical house. The only thing that changed is which side of a line the parcel sits on.

And that $193 isn't just a bill. It's borrowing power. At rates in the low sevens, it's roughly $28,000 to $29,000 of mortgage you no longer qualify for at the same monthly payment. Run what you can comfortably afford with today's rate and the county's tax rate instead of trusting this one, because it moves with rates. The direction doesn't: a higher tax rate buys you less house for the same money.

Now the part that costs more than the taxes.

Lemont Township High School District 210, the Exemplary rated one, covers Cook and DuPage County only. The district says it plainly: there are no residences in Will County inside its boundaries. So a Lemont mailing address in Will County sits outside the school district that's one of the main reasons you're looking here. Which district serves that parcel depends on the parcel. You want that mapped out before you start planning offers.

One thing I'm not going to tell you is that the Will and DuPage addresses are "cheaper." Most of the unincorporated stock is a different kind of house: older, much of it on well and septic, and none of it on village water, sewer or police. I haven't seen paired comps across the county line, so I won't pretend the county sets the price. What the county sets is the rate.

So before you start looking at listings, confirm three things: which county the parcel is in, whether it's inside village limits, and which school districts actually serve it. Your agent can pull all three in a few minutes. Nobody thinks to check, because the address looks settled.

The reassessment you're buying into

Cook County reassesses on a three-year cycle by region, and Lemont Township is in the south and west suburban group. It was reassessed in 2020, in 2023, and again in 2026, so your 2027 tax bill will reflect it. Plan for the next one in 2029. In a reassessment year, notices go out in mid August and the Assessor's appeal window closes around the end of September. Check the Assessor's calendar for this year's exact dates. Don't trust any article for that, including this one.

For you as a buyer, this is a timing question, not a paperwork question. The tax number on a listing describes an earlier version of that property, because Illinois assesses as of January 1 and bills in arrears. In a reassessment year, the gap between what the listing says and what you'll actually owe is at its widest.

So here's what's worth doing. Pull the parcel's actual tax history before you offer, not the listing's number. Check whether the parcel was reassessed this cycle, and find the new assessed value. Then budget a cushion above the current bill instead of assuming it holds.

If you already own here and that 2026 notice is sitting on your counter, learn how to read your Cook County reassessment notice. Make sure your Cook County property tax exemptions are actually on the bill, because the refund I've seen people miss most often is one they were already entitled to. Then think about appealing your Cook County property taxes.

The new-construction trap

Here's the one that catches buyers in the new subdivisions, and Lemont has a few of them selling right now.

Take two homes in the same new subdivision, built the same year. Here's what the first one paid in property taxes, straight from the county's records:

Tax year	Tax bill	Tax rate
2022	$856	8.304%
2023	$15,951	6.890%
2024	$16,824	7.221%
2025	$17,341	7.456%

The second home tracked within about $700 of it every year.

2020 and 2021 looked just like 2022. For three straight years, each lot paid about $850. That's not a typo. It's a lot with nothing on it, and that's exactly what the county was taxing.

Then the house hit the roll. The first full bill came in near $16,000, about nineteen times the year before, on the same piece of land.

Now look at what the county had on the house itself. The building's assessed value sat at zero, then jumped to $70,000 on the first home and $73,000 on the second. In Cook, assessed value runs 10 percent of what the Assessor thinks the property is worth. That one number is the whole story, and it's the line you should check on the county's record for any new build you look at.

2023 was also Lemont's reassessment year, so you might think that's what did it. It isn't. The land's assessed value went up about $3,200. The building added $70,000. About 96 percent of that jump is the house.

And the tax rate? It went down that year, from 8.304 percent to 6.890 percent. The bill went up nineteen times while the rate dropped. The rate is not the bill.

And it doesn't stop at the first bill. Neither home was reassessed in 2024 or 2025, and both bills still went up almost 9 percent, because the rate climbed back up to 7.456 percent.

Here's why this matters before you buy. A brand new home's listing often shows the old lot bill, or no tax history at all. Your lender doesn't need one to approve you. They'll estimate your taxes on the finished house. The problem shows up later, when your lender reanalyzes your escrow account against the real bill. That's when your payment changes, and it's why your escrow payment goes up even on a fixed rate.

One more thing about new subdivisions. Every resale becomes market data. One of these homes sold new for $812,500 in 2023 and resold this year for $1,065,000. The county doesn't tax that house at its sale price. But sales like that one are what the next reassessment looks at when it values every home like it, and Lemont's 2026 reassessment shows up on your 2027 bill.

So before you write an offer on a new build, pull the parcel's tax history from the county, check the building line, and budget for the full bill, not the one on the listing.

How are the schools in Lemont, IL?

They're highly rated for a reason, and the numbers back it up. This isn't a district living on its reputation.

Lemont Township High School District 210 earned an Exemplary summative designation on the 2024 Illinois School Report Card. That's the top tier, which goes to roughly the top ten percent of schools in the state. It was the second year in a row and the fourth time since 2019.

Here's the proficiency from the most recent reporting year: 79.1 percent in English language arts, 71.1 percent in math, 73.1 percent in science. Statewide, those figures were 52.4, 38, and 44.6. Lemont isn't a little above the state. It's nearly double the state in math and roughly one and a half times the state in English and science.

One naming note that'll save you a lot of confusion. Lemont Township High School District 210 is not Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210. They're two different districts with the same number, about twenty miles apart. If you've been reading guides to New Lenox, Frankfort or Mokena, the District 210 in those is the other one.

One boundary note that'll save you more than confusion. District 210 covers Cook and DuPage County only. A Lemont mailing address in Will County isn't in it. Go back to the address trap above, because that's the most expensive and surprising assumption you can make in this town.

Elementary and middle school is Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A, with four schools. On the most recent report card I could verify, Old Quarry Middle School earned Exemplary and the three elementary schools earned Commendable.

Two honest caveats. Illinois lowered its English and math cut scores in August 2025 and applied the change retroactively. That means proficiency percentages from 2025 forward aren't comparable to earlier years, in Lemont or anywhere else. And designations are assigned per school and updated every year. Check illinoisreportcard.com yourself for the current year instead of just taking mine. Treat GreatSchools and Niche as what they are: aggregators with their own methods. Knowing how to evaluate a school district when buying a home matters more than any one score.

What is the commute from Lemont really like?

This is the big catch with Lemont, and I'm going to be blunt about it, because the listing photos won't be.

Lemont has one Metra station, on the Heritage Corridor. It's the least used line in the Metra system, at roughly 2,400 weekday riders, and the ride into Union Station runs about 45 minutes. What matters more than the ride is when it runs. The Heritage Corridor is a rush-hour line. You get a handful of trains into the city in the morning, a handful home in the late afternoon, and nothing midday or on weekends.

So the train works if your day fits a standard weekday office schedule, every day, and you never need it on a weekend. If you work a rotating shift, or nights, or you stay late now and then, the station is scenery. Let that sit before you buy. A station on a listing sheet reads like a commuting option. This one is closer to a coincidence. Check Metra's current Heritage Corridor timetable before you count on any specific train.

Driving is the real answer, and it's your best one. Lemont sits about 28 driving miles from the Loop by I-55, and I-355 runs through the village with an interchange at Lemont Road. That's genuinely close by southwest suburban standards, closer than Frankfort, Manhattan or Channahon. It's a big part of what you're paying for.

I'll be upfront. If a train is non-negotiable for you, start with a town that has better public transit.

What makes Lemont's parks and downtown stand out?

Two different agencies run the outdoor side of Lemont, and that matters if you're comparing towns.

The Lemont Park District runs roughly 25 parks across more than 160 acres, plus The CORE Fitness and Aquatic Complex. The CORE costs extra, and more if you're a non-resident. But you get a six lane indoor pool, a three court gym, a fitness center and an indoor track. An indoor facility that size isn't common in a town this size, and it's a big reason the parks rating lands where it does.

Separately, the Village of Lemont runs the Heritage Quarries Recreation Area. About six miles of crushed stone trail run along the I&M Canal there, with a trailhead right downtown. That's the village, not the park district. Two budgets, two agencies, one town.

The downtown itself is one of the main things you'll fall for. It sits on a bluff above the canal, framed by 19th-century Joliet limestone facades. And it's a real walkable district, not a strip with sidewalks. Pollyanna Brewing is based here, and Pollyanna Social, its cocktail bar at 326 E Main Street, sits about a block away. Wooden Paddle on Stephen Street, the wood fired pizza place the Cowan family opened in 2013, is the only real style outlier in the region. Folklore Coffee opens at 6:30 in the morning, the earliest independent coffee shop across the nineteen towns I checked. Neima Coffee on Front Street runs to about nine at night.

Worth knowing before you picture it wrong: Lemont has a second restaurant cluster that's nothing like the first. 3 Corners Grill & Tap and Rosebud Lemont sit across from each other on Derby Road, a couple of miles from downtown toward the interstate. Both are well regarded. Neither is walkable from Main Street. If somebody tells you Lemont has great restaurants, ask which end of town they mean.

And there's one more you should know about. The Forge: Lemont Quarries is an outdoor adventure park inside the village. None of Lemont's neighbors can say that.

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

The fundamentals are steady, not explosive. For a town at this price point, that's probably the right shape.

Population went from 16,000 in 2010 to 17,629 in 2020, and the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate is 18,513. That's roughly 16 percent over fifteen years. It's growth without the strain of a town doubling. Median household income is about $123,370, and 87.6 percent of homes are owner occupied. That's high, and it usually means steady turnover instead of churn.

The median home was built around 1995, so most of the village is neither historic nor brand new, whatever the downtown looks like. Two new construction communities are actively selling: Gleneagles from Pulte and the Estates of Montefiori from Lakeview Homes. If you're weighing new construction versus resale in Lemont, read the new-construction trap above before you trust the tax line on the listing.

The honest watch item is supply. Months of supply jumped about 21 percent in September alone, to 3.06. If you're buying at the top of this market, budget for the next reassessment catching up to what you paid. And don't count on the last two years of appreciation repeating.

The Bottom Line

Lemont is the most expensive town I help buyers in, and it earns most of it. The schools are genuinely Exemplary. The tax rate is the lowest in the region, even if the bill isn't. The downtown is a real thing, not a marketing line. And you're 28 miles from the Loop.

What you're buying against is the train and the car dependence. A handful of rush-hour trains and nothing on weekends means the station won't solve your commute unless your hours are unusually cooperative. Outside the downtown blocks, you'll drive everywhere. If that's fine with you, very little else about Lemont is going to disappoint.

Three things to do before you write an offer. Confirm which county the parcel is in and whether it's inside village limits. Confirm District 210 actually serves it, since it doesn't reach into Will County. And pull the property's real tax history, then plan for the reassessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

It can be, once the address checks out. Homes in September sold at 99.7 percent of asking in a median of eight days. But months of supply climbed to 3.06, up about 21 percent from August. It's still a seller's market, just a looser one than over the summer. Confirm the county, the high school district and the real tax history before you offer.

How much does a house cost in Lemont?

Over the last 12 months, the median single family home in Lemont sold for $690,000, across 198 sales. Single months swing: August's median was $807,000 and September's was $741,000. What you'll pay depends a lot on when the house was built: homes from the 1980s sold around $600,000, and homes built since 2020 around $925,000.

What are property taxes like in Lemont?

The median effective rate is about 1.93 percent, the lowest in the area, with a median annual bill near $8,680. The low rate doesn't make the bill low, because Lemont's houses are expensive. Nearby Orland Park has a higher rate and a lower bill.

How long is the commute from Lemont to Chicago?

By car, it's about 28 driving miles to the Loop on I-55, with I-355 running through the village. I'm not going to publish a drive time, because it depends entirely on when you leave. By train, the Heritage Corridor runs about 45 minutes from Lemont to Union Station, but only at weekday rush hour, and there's no weekend service.

How are the schools in Lemont?

Lemont Township High School District 210 earned an Exemplary summative designation on the 2024 report card, with proficiency well above the state in English, math and science. Elementary and middle grades are Lemont-Bromberek District 113A. Check illinoisreportcard.com for the current year.

Is Lemont in Cook County or Will County?

The Village of Lemont is almost entirely in Cook County. Of 6,773 housing units in the village at the 2020 census, 6,770 were in Cook. But the Lemont mailing address extends into unincorporated Will and DuPage County, so a property with a Lemont address isn't necessarily in the village or in Cook. Verify the parcel before you offer.

When was Lemont last reassessed?

Lemont Township was reassessed in 2026. Cook County runs a three-year cycle by region, so the previous reassessments were 2023 and 2020, and the next one is 2029. In a reassessment year, notices go out in mid August and the appeal window closes around the end of September. Check the Assessor's calendar for the exact dates, not an article.

If you live in Lemont and think I got something wrong, or there's a downtown spot that belongs on this page, tell me.

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

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.

Last updated: October 2026.