Chicago Is 9th In The U.S. For High Rents In Recent Study

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Dec 28, 2016 9:29PM

Chicago's rental market is 9th in the nation for high rents this month, according to a new report by real estate company Zumper.

Rent reports can be tricky to view as definitive statements on the state of the rental market, because available data can vary widely for different real estate companies and listings websites. For its study, Zumper used rental data on homes that were available or vacant in November 2016. They found that the median rental price of a 1 bedroom apartment in Chicago is just over $1,800 a month—a figure that jives with other recent reports on the cost of living in Chicago.

Within the city, tony River North is, predictably, the most expensive neighborhood in terms of rent: The median price of a one bedroom in River North is listed at $2,150 a month, with Greektown at $2,100 a month and Streeterville and the West Loop close behind at $2,000 a month. Prices get better as you travel farther from the center of the city and away from university communities like Little Italy (UIC) and Hyde Park, home of the University of Chicago.

Zumper also noted that North Park and Washington Heights were the neighborhoods where rent was increasing at the fastest rate—both saw rents up 12 percent over the previous quarter.

Compared to other cities, Chicago is still way less expensive than San Francisco, where a 1-bedroom's median price is $3,330, or New York City, where median rent hits $3,000 a month. We're even a little cheaper than Seattle according to Zumper, where median rent for a 1-bedroom is $1,830.