Living in Walworth, WI: Real Estate and Relocation Guide

By Kim and Joel Reyenga, eXp Realty | YourWiscoHome.com

Quick answer: Walworth is a village in southern Walworth County, Wisconsin, about 2 miles north of the Illinois line. About 2,759 people live in the village across 1.54 square miles. It's built around a town square, it's home to Big Foot High School, and it's the service town for the whole south end of the county. Homes sold for a median of $399,950 over the 12 months through August 21, 2026, across 56 sales.

Here's what you need to know before you move here: the two governments, the schools, the services, and what a house costs.

Two Walworths

Walworth is two separate governments with the same name.

The Village of Walworth covers 1.54 square miles and had a population of 2,759 at the 2020 census. Municipal water and sewer. Built around a town square, which is unusual in this part of Wisconsin.

The Town of Walworth wraps the village. It covers 29.5 square miles, had a population of 1,565 in 2020, and was founded in 1839. Mostly farmland with scattered homes, on private well and septic.

The town borders the Illinois line and the villages of Fontana and Williams Bay. Big Foot Prairie sits in the town along US Highway 14, about 2.5 miles south of the village, and continues into McHenry County, Illinois.

A Walworth mailing address won't tell you which one you're in. Check the tax bill.

The ZIP is 53184. The area code is 262.

The square and the roads

The village is laid out around a town square. Two highways run through it.

US Highway 14 is Madison Street north of the square and South Main Street south of it. It runs southeast toward Harvard, Illinois.

Wisconsin Highway 67 meets Kenosha Street from the north and continues west from the junction with US 14 and Lakeville Road.

Most village businesses sit on or near the square and along those two roads.

Schools

Walworth Grade School covers prekindergarten through grade 8 under Walworth Joint School District 1, established in 1856. Enrollment ran 476 students. The teams are the Walworth Wildcats. The website is walworth.k12.wi.us.

Big Foot High School at 401 Devils Lane, (262) 275-2116, covers grades 9 through 12. Established 1959, enrollment 449 in the 2023 to 2024 school year, colors scarlet and silver. The website is bigfoot.k12.wi.us.

Big Foot is a union high school district, which means it takes students from 4 separate K-8 districts rather than one. It serves the villages of Fontana, Sharon and Walworth, and the towns of Walworth, Delavan, Linn and Sharon. It has its own elected 5-member board.

The school is named for Big Foot, a Potawatomi leader also known as Maumksuck, who lived along Geneva Lake. The lake was originally called Big Foot Lake. His tribe was forced to relocate in 1836.

Big Foot won the Division 4 state football championship in 2009, beating Kewaunee 42 to 13. They'd been runner-up the year before.

Faith Christian School operates in the Town of Walworth.

School lines don't always follow the mailing address. Check the assignment for a specific property with the district office before you buy.

Wisconsin open enrollment lets any Wisconsin student in 4K through grade 12 apply to a district other than their own. The window runs February 2 through April 30 at 4 p.m. for the next school year. Late applications aren't accepted.

Either district can say no for reasons set in state law, and you can appeal a denial to the state within 30 days. Families usually handle transportation. Apply to the district you want, not to the state. Details are at dpi.wi.gov/open-enrollment or (888) 245-2732.

Big Foot Recreation District

The Big Foot Recreation District at 401 Devils Lane, (262) 275-2117, runs recreation for Walworth, Sharon, Fontana, Linn and Delavan Township. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

Programs include sports leagues, swim lessons, pickleball, a kayak club, a fitness center, community classes and a summer day camp with field trips.

Most organized recreation in the area runs through Big Foot rather than through the village. It is based at the high school campus, which also serves Fontana.

Walworth Memorial Library

The Walworth Memorial Library is at 525 Kenosha Street, (262) 275-6322.

Hours are Monday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sunday.

It runs story times, book clubs and summer reading, and it's part of a shared regional system, so your card works at member libraries across the county and nearby counties.

Food and coffee

Sammy's on the Square at 105 Madison Street is the anchor. Open at 7 a.m. every day, with dinner added Thursday through Saturday and a 2 p.m. close on Sunday. Breakfast is what it's known for.

Siemers Cruise-In Bar and Grill at 107 Kenosha Street serves burgers, pizza and daily specials. Closed Mondays.

Two Sisters Thai at 207 N Main Street is open noon to 9 p.m., closed Sunday.

The 46 Tavern is the other name locals give you when you ask.

Josie Rose Coffee House at 325 Kenosha Street opens at 6:30 a.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. weekends, with homemade syrups.

Main Street Country Store at 320 S Main Street, (262) 275-0620, opens at 6:30 a.m. It carries feed, waders, work clothes, local meats and cheeses, plus coffee and an ice cream counter. It's the kind of store that's hard to find anymore.

More restaurant and event coverage sits on our companion site's Village of Walworth community guide.

Groceries, hardware and services

Daniels Foods at 681 Kenosha Street is the full grocery, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with its own butchers and a bakery.

Luna's Fresh Market at 107 Park Street is a market with fresh meats and prepared Mexican food, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Heyer True Value Hardware at 200 WI-67, (262) 275-6133, has served the area since 1868 and carries a real sporting goods aisle alongside the hardware.

Larger stores are in Delavan or Lake Geneva, 20 to 25 minutes away. Fleet Farm, Walmart, Lowe's and Tractor Supply are all in Delavan, covered in our guide to living in Delavan.

Employers

Kikkoman Foods, Inc. at N1365 Six Corners Road, (262) 275-6181, operates in the Town of Walworth. The soy sauce maker opened its first United States production facility here in 1972, and it's one of the larger private employers in southern Walworth County.

Inspiration Ministries also operates in the Town of Walworth.

Beyond those, most employment runs to Lake Geneva, Delavan, Elkhorn or across the state line. Owners who work in Illinois and own here can read selling from across the state line. The seasonal lake economy in Fontana and Lake Geneva pulls workers from Walworth in the summer.

Health care

There is no hospital in the Village of Walworth. The name of the nearest one causes confusion.

Mercyhealth Hospital and Medical Center-Walworth is named for Walworth County, and it sits at N2950 State Road 67 at Highways 50 and 67 in Lake Geneva, (262) 245-0535. That's roughly 12 minutes north of the village. It's a 25-bed critical access hospital, open 24 hours, with an urgent care on the same campus.

Aurora Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn is about 20 minutes north and also open 24 hours.

For day-to-day care, Aurora Family Medicine Walworth is in the village at 525 Kenosha Street, Suite A, (262) 275-2101, in the same building as the library. Additional clinics operate in Lake Geneva, Delavan and Elkhorn. Our guide to living in Elkhorn covers Aurora Lakeland and the county seat.

Walworth and Fontana work as a pair

Walworth and Fontana sit 5 minutes apart and trade services. Each village supplies what the other does not have.

Fontana comes to Walworth for services. The full grocery, the banks, the hardware store, the post office, the auto shops. Big Foot High School and the Big Foot Recreation District are both physically in Walworth, on the same campus at 401 Devils Lane, and Fontana students attend both.

Walworth goes to Fontana for the lake. Fontana Beach is the largest public beach on Geneva Lake, with lifeguards 7 days a week in season. The public boat launch sits next to it. Reid Park is on the water. A section of the Geneva Lake Shore Path runs through the village.

Fontana is a lakefront resort village with a small commercial base. Walworth is a service town without a lake.

A Walworth address carries village services and village prices, with a public beach and a boat launch 5 minutes north. Our guide to buying a home in Walworth covers what each side costs. Our companion site covers Fontana and the Village of Walworth in detail.

Village services

Three banks. Town Bank at 671 Kenosha Street, Bank First at 105 WI-67, and Sauk Valley Bank at 541 Kenosha Street, in a village of 2,759 people. Village services factor into how a property gets priced.

A full grocery. Daniels Foods at 681 Kenosha Street, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with its own butchers and bakery.

A hardware store since 1868. Heyer True Value at 200 WI-67.

A post office. 206 N Main Street, open weekdays with a Saturday morning window.

A clinic. Aurora Family Medicine Walworth at 525 Kenosha Street, Suite A, (262) 275-2101, in the same building as the library. Family medicine and nurse practitioner care.

Two auto shops. O'Neillz Automotive at 205 Madison Street and Jon's Auto at 102 Knoll Road.

A gas station with a car wash. Mobil at 680 Kenosha Street, open 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

A high school and a recreation district, both at 401 Devils Lane. See buying a home in Walworth for what the village address costs.

Fontana, Sharon and the surrounding farm country run their errands here. Village services also factor into what a Walworth property is worth.

Getting to the lake

Geneva Lake is 10 minutes north. You reach it through Fontana.

Fontana Beach on Fontana Boulevard is the largest public beach on the lake. Lifeguards work 7 days a week from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Day passes run $14 for ages 12 and up and $6 for ages 6 to 11. The public boat launch sits next to it.

Reid Park in Fontana is on the water with a gazebo, a playground and picnic tables.

Big Foot Beach State Park on Geneva Lake is about 20 minutes northeast, with 1,550 acres, more than 5 miles of trails, and winter sledding and snowshoe trails.

Delavan Lake is 20 minutes north with a public launch at Community Park, covered in our guide to living in Delavan. Lake Como is 20 minutes northeast.

Village taxes, no shoreline assessment, no seawall, no pier permit, and the water 10 minutes away. What shoreline ownership costs by comparison sits in the lakefront study, and the regional overview sets out the 4 ownership types. Our companion site covers all 26 lakes and where the public access is.

Community and events

The village belongs to the Geneva Lake West Chamber of Commerce, which also serves Fontana and Williams Bay.

Summer brings concerts and gatherings on the square. Fall is farm country drives and Big Foot football. Our companion site's community guides cover the seasonal calendar across the region. The Walworth County Fair runs in Elkhorn each Labor Day weekend, about 20 minutes north.

Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy is about 35 minutes northeast.

Weather and seasons

Walworth is inland, so it skips the summer lake traffic that Fontana and Lake Geneva get. Summer here runs quieter than the lake villages 10 minutes north.

Fall is harvest season, with farm equipment on the county roads.

Winter snowfall averages 35 to 45 inches. December through February highs sit in the upper 20s to low 30s.

Spring brings mud season on the gravel roads out in the town.

Getting around and drive times

US Highway 14 and Wisconsin Highway 67 both run through the village. Interstate 43 is about 20 minutes north.

Destination	Approximate drive
Fontana	5 minutes
Sharon	10 minutes
Williams Bay	10 minutes
Mercyhealth Walworth hospital	12 minutes
Lake Geneva	20 minutes
Delavan	20 minutes
Elkhorn	20 minutes
Harvard, Illinois	20 minutes
Janesville	45 minutes
Milwaukee	70 minutes
Chicago	90 minutes

There's no public transportation. The nearest Metra station is Harvard, Illinois, about 20 minutes south. That's the shortest drive to a train from anywhere in the region.

What homes cost

All figures below cover the 12 months through August 21, 2026, against the prior 12 months.

Market	T12 sales	T12 median	Prior 12 sales	Prior 12 median
Walworth	56	$399,950	55	$405,733
Fontana	15	$655,000	21	$840,000
Sharon	9	$312,000	7	$265,000
Darien	27	$365,000	20	$364,950

Walworth was down 1.4 percent on 56 sales against 55, with 15 active listings. That is the smallest year-over-year change of the 4.

Walworth also sells more homes each year than Fontana, Williams Bay or Sharon. It is the busiest market at the south end of the county, and buying a home in Walworth breaks it into its parts.

The Town and Country study reports all 31 municipalities in the region on the same basis.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Walworth, WI?

Walworth is a village in southern Walworth County, Wisconsin, about 2 miles north of the Illinois line. It covers 1.54 square miles and had a population of 2,759 at the 2020 census. Fontana is 5 minutes north and Lake Geneva about 20 minutes northeast.

What is the difference between the Village of Walworth and the Town of Walworth?

They're separate governments. The village covers 1.54 square miles with municipal water and sewer and is built around a town square. The town wraps it, covers 29.5 square miles of mostly farmland, and runs on private well and septic. A Walworth mailing address won't tell you which one you're in, so check the tax bill.

What school district is Walworth, WI in?

Walworth Grade School covers prekindergarten through grade 8 under Walworth Joint School District 1, established in 1856. High school students attend Big Foot High School at 401 Devils Lane, a union district taking students from 4 K-8 districts across Fontana, Sharon, Walworth and the towns of Walworth, Delavan, Linn and Sharon.

Does Walworth, WI have a hospital?

Not in the village. Mercyhealth Hospital and Medical Center-Walworth is named for Walworth County and sits at Highways 50 and 67 in Lake Geneva, about 12 minutes north. It's a 25-bed critical access hospital open 24 hours with an urgent care on the same campus. Aurora Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn is about 20 minutes north. For routine care, Aurora Family Medicine Walworth is in the village at 525 Kenosha Street.

Is Walworth, WI on a lake?

No. Walworth is a town and country village. You reach Geneva Lake through Fontana, 5 minutes north, where Fontana Beach is the largest public beach on the lake and the public boat launch sits next to it. Delavan Lake and Lake Como are each about 20 minutes, and Big Foot Beach State Park is about 20 minutes northeast.

How do Walworth and Fontana work together?

They trade services. Fontana comes to Walworth for the full grocery, the banks, the hardware store, the post office and the auto shops, and Fontana students attend Big Foot High School and use the Big Foot Recreation District, both located in Walworth. Walworth goes to Fontana for Fontana Beach, the public boat launch, Reid Park and the Geneva Lake Shore Path.

How far is Walworth, WI from Chicago and the Metra?

Chicago is about 90 minutes by car. The Metra station in Harvard, Illinois is about 20 minutes south, the shortest drive to a train from anywhere in the region. Milwaukee runs about 70 minutes.

What services does the Village of Walworth have?

Three banks, a full grocery open until 10 p.m., a hardware store operating since 1868, a post office, Aurora Family Medicine Walworth at 525 Kenosha Street, two auto shops, a gas station with a car wash, the Walworth Memorial Library, Big Foot High School and the Big Foot Recreation District. Fontana, Sharon and the surrounding farm country run their errands here.

What does a home cost in Walworth, WI?

Homes sold for a median of $399,950 over the 12 months through August 21, 2026, across 56 sales, down 1.4 percent from $405,733 on 55 sales the year before, with 15 active listings. That is the smallest year-over-year change among Walworth, Fontana, Sharon and Darien.

Why work with Kim and Joel

A county average covers a range from $312,000 in Sharon to seven figures on Geneva Lake.

We pulled every closed sale in this region back to 2020 and sorted it by jurisdiction, property type, association, frontage and boat slip status. That work turned into 4 published studies covering 26 lakes and 31 municipalities.

For Walworth that produces 3 things. The village and the town price differently and carry separate comparable sets. Walworth moved 1.4 percent over the past 12 months while Fontana moved 22 percent on 15 sales. And the services sit in one village while the beach and the launch sit in the other, 5 minutes apart.

If you're selling, start with pricing a Walworth property. Call (262) 325-9867, or request a property valuation.