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Will County's seven communities range from a 2,097-home flagship down to a 55-home boutique development, spread across Plainfield, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Lockport, Romeoville, and Bolingbrook.
Carillon and Carillon Lakes share a name but not an owner — they're separate developments, along with unrelated Carillon-branded communities in Kane, Lake, and DuPage counties. Don't assume matching amenities or fees between them.
South and Southwest of the City
Will County sits directly south and southwest of Cook County, further from the lake and the North Shore than any other corridor in this guide. I-55 and I-80 are the county's defining highways, running through Plainfield, Romeoville, and Bolingbrook and connecting south toward the Braidwood/Joliet corridor and east back toward the city. I-355 (the Veterans Memorial Tollway) links Will County north toward DuPage. Metra's Rock Island District and SouthWest Service lines both extend into Will County for buyers who want an occasional rail option — confirm specific station distances with a local agent, since they vary meaningfully by town.
Winters here are the same as the rest of Chicagoland — genuine snow, genuine cold, and a real seasonal maintenance line item. Ask what each HOA's snow removal actually covers before you assume it's comprehensive.
Will County's Township-by-Township Tax Variance
Will County's effective property tax rate spans roughly 2.0–2.5% — one of the widest ranges in the metro, driven by township-level and municipal variation rather than a single countywide number. A home in Plainfield Township can carry a meaningfully different bill than one in Crest Hill or Romeoville even at similar market values, because school district, park district, and municipal levies stack differently township to township. Will County, like all collar counties except Cook, assesses residential property at 33.33% of market value to arrive at the EAV that rates are applied against.
The same four statewide relief programs apply here: the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze (EAV freeze for 65+ households under $65,000 income, annual re-application, does not freeze the rate), the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral (a 5%-interest state loan repaid at sale or through the estate), the Circuit Breaker/Property Tax Relief Grant (up to $700/year, income-based), and the General Homestead Exemption (roughly $6,000 off EAV, worth $200–$600/year, automatic once primary residence is established). Because Will County's variance is wider than most, get a specific parcel-level estimate from the Will County Supervisor of Assessments rather than relying on the countywide range alone.
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The Trade-Offs of Going South
On a $400,000 home, Will County's 2.0–2.5% effective rate produces roughly $8,000–$10,000 in annual property tax — right in the middle of the pack, tied with Cook County's range.
| County | Effective Rate | Annual Tax (Low) | Annual Tax (High) |
|---|---|---|---|
| DuPage | 1.8–2.2% | $7,200 | $8,800 |
| McHenry | 2.0–2.4% | $8,000 | $9,600 |
| Cook | 2.0–2.5% | $8,000 | $10,000 |
| Will | 2.0–2.5% | $8,000 | $10,000 |
| Kane | 2.2–2.6% | $8,800 | $10,400 |
| Lake | 2.2–2.8% | $8,800 | $11,200 |
What Will County offers in return: the largest single community outside Sun City Huntley (Carillon, at 2,097 homes, with golf and gated access), a genuine gated-lake option at Carillon Lakes, and HOA dues that stay reasonable across the board — nothing here approaches Lake Barrington Shores' $450–600/mo or Oak Brook's $700–750/mo DuPage communities.
The Will County Buyer
Will County tends to fit buyers who want scale — a large, amenity-rich, possibly gated community — without paying DuPage-level home prices, and who don't mind that the specific tax bill depends heavily on which township and municipality a community sits in. It's a strong fit for golfers (Carillon) and buyers who want lake access within a gated community (Carillon Lakes). It's a weaker fit for buyers who want tax-rate certainty without digging into township specifics — that buyer should lean on a local agent to get parcel-level numbers before choosing a specific community here.
The Rest of Chicagoland's Corridors
Will is one piece of a six-county puzzle. Compare it against the rest of the metro before deciding:
- Lake County Corridor Guide
- Kane County Corridor Guide
- McHenry County Corridor Guide
- DuPage County Corridor Guide
- Suburban Cook County Corridor Guide
The State-Level Offset
Whatever a specific Will County township charges, remember Illinois's broader trade: zero state tax on retirement income, against property taxes that run higher than many Sun Belt states. For a retiree with substantial pension or IRA income and a modest home, staying in Illinois can still come out ahead of a move south — worth running the full comparison rather than looking at property tax alone.