Chicago Housing Market: Home Prices & Rent
Chicago home values since 2000
Last few years
Rent in Chicago
Owning vs renting, monthly
Buying the typical Chicago home with 20% down at this week's 7.32% 30-year rate costs about $2,399/month (principal, interest plus ~1.5% a year for tax and insurance) vs $2,163/month typical rent.
Rate: Freddie Mac, week of Oct 22, 2026. Estimate for comparison only.
Chicago vs Illinois vs the U.S.
| Typical home | 12-month change | Typical rent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| This metro | $356k | +5.0% | $2,163/mo |
| Illinois | $296k | +5.3% | - |
| United States | $366k | +1.2% | $1,932/mo |
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Common questions
Are home prices falling in Chicago?
No - the typical Chicago-area home value is up 5.0% over the past 12 months, at $356k (September 2026).
Is the Chicago housing market crashing?
Home values are close to their 2020s high and up 5.0% over the past year - a rising market, not a sudden collapse. Whether that continues isn't knowable from the data - this page updates every month when new figures come out.
How much is rent in Chicago?
Typical rent in the Chicago metro is $2,163 a month (September 2026), +4.7% over 12 months.
How much income do you need to buy a home in Chicago?
About $105k a year to afford the typical home with 20% down, spending no more than 30% of income on housing (September 2026).
Nearby and similar metros
Grand Rapids, MI · Tampa, FL · Dallas, TX · Bakersfield, CA
Sources: Data Provided by Zillow Group (Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, September 2026; income needed and listing data). 30-year mortgage rate: Freddie Mac PMMS. Figures are for the Chicago, IL metro area. How we calculate.