Research / Rent vs. buy / Illinois / Chicago

Rent or buy in Chicago?
Renting is $255 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Chicago costs $255 less a month than owning it. Counting equity, price growth and what a renter could earn by investing the difference, buying comes out ahead in year 5.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 20 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$2,597typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$2,342Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 53.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$76,827$334,030 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$103,870vs. $93,680 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Chicago home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $218 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Chicago is $77,902 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 40% of it; renting would take 36%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area area is $2,586 a month, still $11 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,783
  • Property tax $412
  • Home insurance $123
  • Maintenance $278

How long you would need to stay.

Net worth of a buyer compared with a renter who invests the down payment, closing costs and any monthly savings at 6% a year. Home values and rents grow 3.5% a year; selling costs 6%.

Change the assumptions

Buying vs. renting in Chicago, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $10,301
5 yearsBuying ahead by $7,219
7 yearsBuying ahead by $28,886
10 yearsBuying ahead by $70,652
15 yearsBuying ahead by $171,918
20 yearsBuying ahead by $327,307
30 yearsBuying ahead by $899,688

Rent or buy elsewhere in Illinois.

Other large Illinois cities in the study.

All cities
AuroraRenting $487/mo cheaperNapervilleRenting $2,660/mo cheaperJolietRenting $601/mo cheaperRockfordRenting $484/mo cheaperElginRenting $886/mo cheaperSpringfieldRenting $325/mo cheaperPeoriaOwning $17/mo cheaper

More on Chicago

See the full Chicago rental market profile with Census medians, or check how a typical rental performs for an investor in our cash-flow ranking.

How we calculated this

Price is the Zillow Home Value Index and rent the Zillow Observed Rent Index for Chicago. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 1.48% effective rate (Census ACS), the Illinois average homeowners premium (NAIC 2023) and 1% yearly maintenance. It leaves out income-tax effects, HOA dues and utilities. The typical rental may be smaller than the typical home for sale. Full methodology. This is a citywide estimate, not advice about a specific home.