Rent in Chicago is rising faster than in other major cities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
You're not imagining it. Rent in Chicago is through the roof and rising faster than in other major cities, and there's not much relief in the suburbs either.
Why it matters: Rent in Chicago has increased by 6% since last year and 35% since before the pandemic, according to a new Zillow report. This could make the city less desirable for transplants when comparing housing costs.
The big picture: Chicago is an outlier in a rosier nationwide trend of rents at a four-year low. A flood of university students and recent grads each year, as well as a more muted construction boom than in other cities, has created a tighter market in Chicago.
- River North, Lincoln Park, Greektown and Fulton Market are some of the most expensive neighborhoods to rent in Chicago, according to RentCafe.
By the numbers: Average rent in Chicago is about $2,113, about $126 more than last year, according to Zillow's data.
- The lowest rent in Chicago is $400, but it goes as high as $30,573.
- A renter needs an annual income of more than $80,000 to afford rent in the metro Chicago area.
Zoom in: Compare the more than $2,000 Chicago renters are paying with the markets in similarly sized cities, and renters are getting a better deal in all of them:
- Philadelphia: $1,881.
- Houston: $1,675.
- Phoenix: $1,776.
Zoom out: The Midwest overall is a good choice for renters, Zillow reports.
- Milwaukee, St. Louis and Cincinnati are good options to get more bang for your buck in the apartment game, and all have more than 20% of their rentals available for less than $1,000. In Chicago, only around 4% of rentals are below $1,000.
State of play: Jessica Niekrasz recently moved to Chicago from Madison, where she was paying $2,400 a month for a brand-new two-bedroom with a pool, dog park and other amenities. She tells Axios that anything comparable in Chicago was about $3,200.
- "I ended up renting a tiny stand-alone home in La Grange Park. I have a very active dog, so the suburbs were always my goal," Niekrasz says.
- Her rent in La Grange Park is $2,450.
Reality check: Don't assume you'll pay less in the suburbs, Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy tells Axios.
- Annual rent growth is above 10% in places like Highland Park, Park Ridge and Carpentersville, and you expect to pay about $1,000 more in rent in Highland Park than in Chicago.