Illinois city guide
Housing Costs and Affordability in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago has about 2,711,226 residents. Median gross rent is $1,440 per month, while median household income is $77,902.
Quick answer
What income supports the median rent?
A household would need about $57,600 per year to keep Chicago's median gross rent near 30% of gross income. The current citywide median-rent-to-median-income benchmark is 22%.
Moderate housing-cost benchmarkData scope: figures use 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates. The latest official release was checked Aug 01, 2026 at 03:00 UTC. The benchmark compares citywide medians and is designed for broad relocation research, not an individual budget or a live apartment search.
Personal rent check
Test Chicago rent against your income
Enter gross annual household income to compare a 30% monthly housing target with the citywide median gross rent.
High estimate precision Margins of error use the Census ACS 90% confidence level. Smaller geographies and subgroups can have wider uncertainty.
Major-city decision brief · Priority city 3 of 30
What stands out for a move to Chicago
Four signals derived from the same Census dataset help separate the renting, buying and ownership picture.
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01
Income versus the rent target
Median household income is $20,302 above the $57,600 income associated with median rent at 30%. That is a citywide cushion, not a promise that a specific household or apartment will fit.
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02
Rent position inside Illinois
Chicago ranks #59 from lowest to highest rent among 123 covered Illinois cities. Its rent is 13% below the dataset median across the full 10-state dataset.
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03
Buying requires a different scale of income
Median home value equals 4.3x median household income, close to the dataset median. This ratio does not include rates, down payment, property tax, insurance or maintenance.
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04
Ownership is one part of the local housing mix
46% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 27% below the dataset median. The remaining share includes renter-occupied housing and should not be read as current inventory availability.
How Chicago compares
Median rent is 13% below the dataset median, while household income is 7% below the dataset median. Within Illinois, Chicago ranks #59 from lowest to highest rent and #81 from highest to lowest household income among 123 cities in the current dataset.
The citywide rent-to-income benchmark is between 20% and 25%. This benchmark is useful for comparing cities under one formula, but households with different incomes, unit sizes or debt loads will experience costs differently.
Renting snapshot
$17,280 in annual median rent
Twelve months of median gross rent totals about $17,280. Gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated tenant-paid utilities where applicable in the ACS definition.
Buying snapshot
19.3x price-to-rent baseline
Median home value is about 19.3x annual median rent. This is a broad market comparison and does not include mortgage rates, taxes, insurance or maintenance.
Search terms, defined
How to read rent, home price and AMI searches
These distinctions keep the Census estimates comparable and prevent a historical survey measure from being mistaken for a live market quote.
- Average rent vs. median gross rent
- If you searched for the average rent in Chicago, the closest consistent Census measure on this page is $1,440 median gross rent. It is the midpoint among renter-occupied homes, not a live average asking rent. Gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated tenant-paid utilities where applicable.
- Home price vs. median home value
- The reported $334,100 median home value is the midpoint of owner estimates for owner-occupied homes. It is not an average sale price, listing price or current automated valuation.
- Household income vs. AMI
- The $77,902 median household income is a Census city estimate. It is not HUD Area Median Income (AMI), an AMI eligibility limit or an affordable-housing contract amount.
Keep comparing
Similar-size cities in Illinois
Questions people ask
What is the median rent in Chicago?
Median gross rent is $1,440 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.
What is the average rent in Chicago?
This page reports Census median gross rent of $1,440 per month, not a live average asking rent. Median is the midpoint among renter-occupied homes; gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated tenant-paid utilities where applicable.
What income is needed for the median rent?
A gross household income of about $57,600 per year would keep median gross rent near 30% of income. This is a planning benchmark, not a landlord qualification rule.
Is housing affordable in Chicago?
The citywide median-rent-to-median-income benchmark is 22%, which this site labels a moderate housing-cost benchmark. Individual costs can differ substantially.
Does this page report Area Median Income or AMI?
No. The $77,902 figure is Census median household income for the city. It is not HUD Area Median Income, an AMI limit or an affordable-housing contract amount.
What is the median home value in Chicago?
The median value of owner-occupied homes is $334,100 in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.
What is the average home price in Chicago?
This page reports a Census median owner-occupied home value of $334,100, not an average sale price, current listing price or real-time market estimate.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Latest release checked Aug 01, 2026 at 03:00 UTC. Review the definitions and methodology.