Chicago rents and rental comps

The median asking rent across Chicago, IL sits at $2,230/month, pulled from active rental listings in 22 zip codes. That's up 4.7% from a year ago.

Rents aren't uniform across the city. ZIP 60607 tops the list at $3,000/month. ZIP 60620 comes in lowest at $1,350/month. That's a 122% spread between the top and bottom zip codes, which is wide. City-wide averages won't tell you much about a specific property here.

A 2-bedroom rents for $2,350/month at the median. 1-bedrooms run about $1,813. 3-bedrooms come in around $3,223.

Listings take longer here. The average is 65 days on market, which gives renters more room to negotiate and means landlords should price carefully.

Rent-to-price math is tight in Chicago. The gross figure sits at about 6.8% ($2,230/month against $395,000 median price). Most investors here are betting on appreciation, not monthly cash flow.

HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Chicago metro is $2,670/month. Asking rents come in about 16% below the federal benchmark, which can make Section 8 properties competitive here.

Chicago is a huge rental market with a deep tenant pool. The economy spans finance, healthcare, tech, and logistics. Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and the West Loop get premium rents. South and West Side neighborhoods rent dramatically lower. The defining issue for Chicago landlords is property taxes. Cook County rates are some of the highest in the country, and they eat through cash flow fast if you're not factoring them in. Illinois isn't the most landlord-friendly state either, so understanding the local eviction process and tenant protections matters. The size and diversity of this market means there's opportunity at every price point. You just have to know what you're buying.

These numbers are city-wide averages. If you're pricing a specific property in Chicago, pull comps from the same zip code. The spread is usually bigger than people expect.