HomeMarketCap.comChicago vs New York: Where Housing Costs Less
Housing is 56% cheaper in Chicago on typical home value: $340,167 in Chicago against $780,921 in New York. Typical rent is 39% lower in Chicago: $1,883 in Chicago against $3,100 in New York per month. The ranges overlap: Chicago runs $125,693 to $684,050 across its ZIPs and New York runs $254,850 to $3,742,256, so the cheaper metro on the median still contains neighborhoods dearer than parts of the other.
Key stats
- Typical home value is 56% lower in Chicago: $340,167 in Chicago against $780,921 in New York.
- Typical rent is 39% lower in Chicago: $1,883 in Chicago against $3,100 in New York per month.
- The ranges overlap: Chicago runs $125,693 to $684,050 across its ZIPs and New York runs $254,850 to $3,742,256, so the cheaper metro on the median still contains neighborhoods dearer than parts of the other.
- The income-needed indicator stands at $96,162 for Chicago and $207,403 for New York, a difference of $111,242.
- Median ZIP home value
- $340,167 / $780,921
- Median ZIP rent
- $1,883 / $3,100
- Tracked ZIP markets
- 56 / 174
What housing costs in Chicago and New York
Typical home value is 56% lower in Chicago: $340,167 in Chicago against $780,921 in New York.
Typical rent is 39% lower in Chicago: $1,883 in Chicago against $3,100 in New York per month.
Where the two metros actually overlap
The ranges overlap: Chicago runs $125,693 to $684,050 across its ZIPs and New York runs $254,850 to $3,742,256, so the cheaper metro on the median still contains neighborhoods dearer than parts of the other.
A metro median decides nothing on its own: a move lands in one neighborhood, not in the average of all of them, and the ranges above are what a shortlist has to sit inside.
What this comparison does not include
This page compares housing only. Groceries, transport, state and local taxes, insurance, and childcare are not measured here and can move the total either way — in particular, the two metros may sit in states with very different income-tax treatment.
The income-needed indicator stands at $96,162 for Chicago and $207,403 for New York, a difference of $111,242.
Continue your market research
- Chicago housing marketMetro overview and the full ZIP directory.
- New York housing marketMetro overview and the full ZIP directory.
- Moving to Chicago: what housing costsThe same figures read from a mover’s side.
- Moving to New York: what housing costsThe same figures read from a mover’s side.
Sources and method
- HomeMarketCap.com data sources: ZIP and metro housing-market datasets
- HomeMarketCap.com methodology: Metric definitions and calculation rules