Is Waukegan a good place to buy near Naval Station Great Lakes?
By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage · Licensed in Illinois ·
Short answer
Waukegan is the lowest-priced option minutes from the base: the county seat directly north of Great Lakes, with 1920s-to-1980s housing that varies block by block and some newer subdivisions on the west side. It is where a junior sailor's BAH goes furthest, and it is also the city where the age of the housing makes the VA appraisal and the inspection matter most. The payment math is still Lake County's — the tax bill is a large share of it — but the base price is low enough that a VA loan with no down payment leaves margin.
- Commute
- Base via Sheridan Rd or Green Bay Rd, 5–10 min; Metra to Chicago from downtown Waukegan
- Housing stock
- 1920s–1980s; brick bungalows and frame two-stories; newer subdivisions on the west side
- Price band
- Lowest in the county with North Chicago; west side higher
Waukegan is the Lake County seat and the city immediately north of the base along Sheridan Road — an old industrial lakefront city with a courthouse, a Metra station, a harbor and a housing stock that dates mostly from before 1980. It is the cheapest place to buy within minutes of the gates, and the one where a careful buyer gets the most for the money.
Who lives here and why
Junior sailors and staff who want the shortest commute and the lowest payment, first-time buyers priced out of Gurnee, and long-time residents. The stock is brick bungalows and frame two-stories from the 1920s through the 1950s in the older neighborhoods, 1960s-to-1980s ranches and split-levels farther from the lake, and newer subdivisions on the west side toward Gurnee. Quality varies block by block more than in any other community around the base, which is the honest caveat: the same price buys very different houses on adjacent streets. Waukegan's schools are the city's own district.
The commute
Five to ten minutes to the base down Sheridan Road or Green Bay Road, and the Metra Union Pacific North line runs from downtown Waukegan to Chicago for a spouse working in the city. The Great Lakes guide maps the county by direction.
Housing stock and what the appraiser sees
Waukegan is where the Minimum Property Requirements do the most work near this base. Pre-1978 homes bring the lead-based paint rule; older electrical (knob-and-tube in the oldest houses) and boilers or furnaces at the end of their life get flagged; roofs carry snow and show it; basements show moisture and need working sump systems. Radon is common. A repair condition is a negotiation, not a rejection, and the appraisal page covers how conditions are cleared — but an inspection is essential here, and the block matters as much as the house. The inspection answer explains why the appraisal is not enough.
The loan angle
Waukegan's prices leave a first-use VA loan with no down payment the widest margin against BAH in the county, even after Lake County's tax bill — run the BAH-to-payment calculator with the real rate. Illinois's disabled-veteran exemption, which at 70% and above removes EAV up to a statutory cap — the whole bill on most Waukegan houses — is on the Illinois benefits page and is worth more here than the price difference with Gurnee. A well-chosen Waukegan house is a plausible keep-as-a-rental at the next PCS given the base's constant inflow; the renting-out page covers the decision.
Around Great Lakes
Local details
- Schools
- Waukegan CUSD 60 (verify boundaries)
- Taxes and fees
- Lake County — very high effective rates; city of Waukegan; few HOAs on the older stock
- Watch for
- Pre-1978 paint; knob-and-tube and older electrical; roofs and boilers; basement moisture; block-by-block variation; radon
- BAH here
- Official rate by grade →
What schools serve Waukegan?
Waukegan is served by Waukegan Community Unit School District 60. North Chicago, immediately south of Waukegan and at the base gate, is North Chicago District 187 (d187.org): Neal Math Science Academy (6-8) and North Chicago Community High School (9-12). Attendance zones change; confirm the assigned school for a specific address with the district.
| School | Grades | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Benny Middle School | 6-8 | Miguel Juarez Middle serves the other half of the city |
| Waukegan High School | 9-12 | two campuses, Brookside and Washington |
Performance data: the state's official school report card. This site does not publish third-party ratings; they change yearly and are not the district's own numbers.
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