The cost of living has been going up for years, and the Chicago suburbs are no exception. If you’re thinking of moving here – or even just heading to a new part of town – you’d be wise to research how the cost of living compares across the ‘burbs.
As local realtors, we get no end of questions about how much it really costs to live in the suburbs. There’s nobody better placed to answer that question for you, so we’ve pulled together everything we know about living expenses here in Chicagoland.
We’ve made sure to include expensive, affordable, and mid-range suburbs, as well as picking areas from the North, West, and South of Chicago. As if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also included averages for the collar counties. Read on to find out which areas of Chicago could suit your way of life.
Average House Prices
One cost of living that’s non-negotiable is having a roof over your head – so let’s start by looking at the average house and rent prices across different Chicago suburbs and Counties.
Median House Prices By Chicago Suburb
| Chicago Suburb | Median House Price |
| Barrington Hills | $950K |
| Evanston | $362K |
| Hinsdale | $965K |
| Naperville | $480K |
| Northlake | $250K |
| Thornton | $160K |
As you can see from the suburbs we’ve chosen, house prices across Chicagoland vary drastically by suburb. At the affordable end of the spectrum, you’ve got villages on the south side of the city like Thornton, Illinois, where the median house price is a mere $160K – almost three times less than the Chicago average.
But don’t be fooled into thinking all the suburbs are a haven for cheap property. At the other end of the market, you’ll find upscale suburbs like Hinsdale and Barrington Hills, where the average home costs a mindblowing $900K+.
There is no shortage of high-end neighborhoods around Chicago, so if ever you fancy curb-crawling for your dream lottery home, take a drive around places like Hinsdale, Glencoe, Winnetka, Clarendon Hills, and Wilmette.
On the other hand, a city like Evanston, located on the north shore of Chicago, comes in at a happy medium of $362K, which isn’t far off the average home price here.
Yet, the truth is that you can find homes across different price points in practically any suburb. There is a huge variation in size and style that affects the final value of the home.
Average House Prices By Chicago County
This much is clear when you look at the average house price by Chicago County. The figures are much closer together, reflecting the fact that you can find expensive and affordable houses spread across every area.
| Chicago County | Median House Price |
| Cook County | $302K |
| DuPage County | $350K |
| Kane County | $305K |
| Lake County | $325K |
| McHenry County | $289K |
| Will County | $300K |
All in all, the Chicago County Average house prices reflect that you can find properties close to the Chicago average house price, no matter what side of town you’re looking into.
Average Rent
Much like the house prices, the average rent in the Chicago Suburbs really varies depending on where you’re looking. Your jaw may drop as you look at the average rent in Barrington Hills as you ask yourself why it’s so expensive.
That’s because Barrington Hills is a rural suburb of Chicago. It’s miles out from the city itself, and most people here tend to own their homes. So any rentals in areas like this tend to be luxury properties designed for short to mid-term escapes to the countryside.
Median Rent By Chicago Suburb
| Chicago Suburb | Median Rent |
| Barrington Hills | $2,533 |
| Evanston | $1,376 |
| Hinsdale | $1,879 |
| Naperville | $1,516 |
| Northlake | $958 |
| Thornton | $964 |
In general, rental prices in the Chicago suburbs come in between $1,000 -$2,000 for a 1-bedroom apartment. It’s the most significant expense you’ll need to account for when working out the cost of living in the suburbs.
However, it’s helpful to note that a 2- or 3-bedroom apartment or home would cost far less to split between multiple renters – which is how many people choose to get around the high cost of living these days.
Median Rent By Chicago County
| Chicago County | Median Rent |
| Cook County | $1,146 |
| DuPage County | $1,349 |
| Kane County | $1,117 |
| Lake County | $1,210 |
| McHenry County | $1,169 |
| Will County | $1,125 |
Data from deptofnumbers.com
Property Taxes
Regarding the cost of living in the Chicago suburbs, property taxes are the elephant in the room. Many people today might blacklist Illinois as a place to live because our property taxes are famously higher than the national average.
On the flip side, you could consider it part of the deal to live close by to one of the best cities in America, which is home to nationally ranked schools and a cultural scene with a long legacy of producing world-class professionals across every vocation.
Regardless of how you see it, the property tax bill will come your way. Let’s take a closer look at how that cost varies across different Chicago suburbs.
Property Taxes by Chicago Suburb (examples)
| City | Home Value | Median Annual Property Tax Payment | Average Effective Property Tax Rate |
| Barrington Hills | $772,200 | $9,988 | 1.30% |
| Evanston | $380,600 | $7,433 | 1.95% |
| Hinsdale | $878,700 | $12,389 | 1.14% (approx.) |
| Naperville | $438,000 | $10,614 | 2.42% |
| Northlake | $171,900 | $5,327 | 3.10% |
| Thornton | $109,700 | $3,699 | 3.37% |
Data from smartasset.com/
It’s a little tricky to figure out how much property tax you will pay until you’ve chosen a home – a lot depends on the exact area the home is in, as well as the home’s assessed value. But you can see that, once again, property taxes range wildly between different suburbs, and in general, they follow the pattern of how expensive the suburb is.
In Thorton, which is one of the most affordable suburbs of Chicago, homeowners here pay an average property tax bill of $3,699. This sounds quite appealing compared to the record-breaking Hinsdale, where the locals are shelling out an average of $12,389 in property taxes.
“Where does it all go?”, you might wonder. The answer is that much of it funds one of the most prestigious school districts in the state of Illinois, Hinsdale Township High School District 86. The situation in Naperville is much the same, and that’s why families who can afford it are flocking to these suburbs despite the high taxes.
To get a more general picture of how property taxes vary across Chicagoland, we can also consider the property taxes by Chicago County.
Cook County is onto a winner here, with the lowest average effective property tax rate of 1.38%. Cook County and DuPage County are both home to some of our personal favorite suburbs, including Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Oak Brook, Schaumburg, Skokie, Arlington Heights, and Evanston.
Property Taxes by Chicago County
| County | Home Value | Median Annual Property Tax Payment | Average Effective Property Tax Rate |
| Cook County | $265,800 | $3,681 | 1.38% |
| DuPage County | $316,900 | $5,417 | 1.71% |
| Kane County | $245,000 | $5,112 | 2.09% |
| Lake County | $287,300 | $6,285 | 2.19% |
| McHenry County | $380,600 | $5,226 | 2.09% |
| Will County | $240,500 | $4,921 | 2.05% |
Data from tax-rates.org/
Median Household Income
One good way to get an idea of the cost of living in an area is to look at the median household income. People generally like to live in the best area that they can afford – and if they have a similar income to you, then you can look to that area too.
As you might expect, based on the rent and house prices, Barrington Hills, Hinsdale and Naperville are the highest earners from our example suburbs.
In fact, they earn 2-3 x more than households living in Thornton and Northlake. So, in general, you can expect the cost of living is 2-3x times higher, depending on your specific lifestyle.
Median Household Income by Chicago Suburb
| Chicago Suburb | Median Household Income |
| Barrington Hills | $178,162 |
| Evanston | $78,904 |
| Hinsdale | $203,368 |
| Naperville | $125,926 |
| Northlake | $55,305 |
| Thornton | $65,081 |
Data from niche.com
Transportation
Getting around in the Chicago suburbs contributes a lot to your cost of living, and the way that you travel will depend on where you live.
There are some far-out suburbs, like Barrington Hills, where having a car is an absolute necessity simply due to the scale of the local area (and the fact that there is no nearby metro station). You’ll need a car to do simple things like picking up groceries because public transport doesn’t support it.
However, if you are lucky to live centrally within a well-connected suburb like Naperville or Evanston, you could get around by relying on the metra and pace buses. No matter which suburb you live in, you can get a day pass or a monthly pass for the Metra. The cost does change slightly depending on your route and distance from Chicago.
Metra Pass
| Single fare to Chicago | Monthly Pass to Chicago | |
| Barrington Hills | N/A | N/A |
| Evanston | 5.50 | 159.50 |
| Hinsdale | 6.25 | 181.00 |
| Naperville | 6.75 | 210.25 |
| Northlake (Rosemont) | 6.25 | 181.25 |
| Thornton (Riverdale) | 3.00 | 105.00 |
Daily Cost of Commuting to Chicago from Suburbs by Car
| Miles from Chicago | Daily fuel cost* | Monthly fuel cost** | |
| Barrington Hills | 38.9 | $7.06 | $148.38 |
| Evanston | 13.5 | $2.45 | $51.49 |
| Hinsdale | 21.4 | $3.88 | $81.62 |
| Naperville | 33.3 | $6.04 | $127.02 |
| Northlake | 17.6 | $3.19 | $67.13 |
| Thornton | 25.1 | $4.55 | $95.74 |
*Based on 2022 current average price for regular gas of $4.541 and the average MPG of 25
** Based on commuting 21 days per month
Many people in the Chicago suburbs choose to drive as their main method of getting around. Just like most places in America, there is a lot of sprawl in our suburbs and there is nothing more convenient than hopping in your car.
However, it also comes at a cost – and one that is rapidly rising. Fuel prices are almost double what they were this time last year, and there’s no telling how they might change in the future.
We’ve made some quick calculations to estimate how much it would cost you to commute to Chicago every day from different suburbs. We did this using current gas prices and the average miles per gallon of 25 – plus. We also considered that you’d be commuting approximately 21 days per month. However, no matter what suburb you live in, you can easily calculate it yourself.
To work out how much it will cost you in fuel to travel by car, find out your miles and then divide it by your MPG. Take that figure and multiply it by the current cost of fuel per gallon, and the result is your fuel costs for the trip.
Bear in mind that being stuck in traffic uses up to ½ gallon of fuel per hour. Many of the Chicago suburbs are known for becoming congested.
If you’re commuting every day from a busy suburb into downtown Chicago, you’ll easily spend a couple of extra hours a week sitting in the car. To add insult to injury, this can add on a few dollars to your fuel costs weekly.
Parking
On average, people in Chicago pay $190 per month for parking as part of their commute.
If you are parking every day for your commute – whether that’s to Chicago or simply to your local metra – you’ll want to do some research to figure out the cost of your local garage and account for that in your cost of living.
Parking downtown outside of Chicago is typically metered at $2 per hour. The cost of parking in a garage varies dramatically depending on their individual rates, so you’ll need to do some research to find the best spot for you.
Utilities
No matter which suburb you’re looking at, utilities will be roughly the same, as many of them are determined by state or national providers. One of the biggest differences you can make to your cost of utilities is what phone bill and WiFi you choose. The cheapest phone tariffs for U.S. providers start at $30 but can be as high as $180.
| Basic Utilities | $162.17 |
| Phone Bill | $30-180 |
| WiFi | $63.76 |
Food prices / Eating out
It’s hard to put an exact figure on the cost of food in the Chicago Suburbs – that’s because it doesn’t really depend on the suburb so much as the person’s individual lifestyle.
According to bungalow.com, people in Chicago spend around $300 every month on food. But we all know that the way you choose to have your meals can make or break that figure; if you shop at budget supermarkets, do meal prep and always eat at home, then your food bill will be significantly lower than someone who lives off takeaways or in upscale restaurants.
But still, just for fun, we thought we’d head out to a few typical suburban restaurants so we could show you roughly how much it costs to eat out in the suburbs. We ate at an in-expensive restaurant and a mid-range restaurant – here’s how much it cost.
Inexpensive restaurant: $60-150 (couple)
Mid-range restaurant: $180-$330 (couple)
In short
We hope to have given you a good insight into how the Chicago suburb you call home can affect your cost of living. Of course, there are many other factors to add to that final bill, such as childcare costs, healthcare insurance, and car insurance, but these are broadly speaking the same no matter where you live.
Perhaps you’ve even set your sights on one of the suburbs we’ve used as examples. We’ve got lots of helpful information for you about living in Naperville, the best parts of life in Hinsdale, and why we think Northlake is one of the most underrated suburbs of Chicago.
