HomeMarketCap.comChicago vs Seattle: Where Housing Costs Less
Housing is 58% cheaper in Chicago on typical home value: $340,167 in Chicago against $815,787 in Seattle. Typical rent is 17% lower in Chicago: $1,883 in Chicago against $2,279 in Seattle per month. The ranges overlap: Chicago runs $125,693 to $684,050 across its ZIPs and Seattle runs $544,576 to $1,362,281, so the cheaper metro on the median still contains neighborhoods dearer than parts of the other.
Key stats
- Typical home value is 58% lower in Chicago: $340,167 in Chicago against $815,787 in Seattle.
- Typical rent is 17% lower in Chicago: $1,883 in Chicago against $2,279 in Seattle per month.
- The ranges overlap: Chicago runs $125,693 to $684,050 across its ZIPs and Seattle runs $544,576 to $1,362,281, 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 $193,169 for Seattle, a difference of $97,007.
- Median ZIP home value
- $340,167 / $815,787
- Median ZIP rent
- $1,883 / $2,279
- Tracked ZIP markets
- 56 / 22
What housing costs in Chicago and Seattle
Typical home value is 58% lower in Chicago: $340,167 in Chicago against $815,787 in Seattle.
Typical rent is 17% lower in Chicago: $1,883 in Chicago against $2,279 in Seattle per month.
Where the two metros actually overlap
The ranges overlap: Chicago runs $125,693 to $684,050 across its ZIPs and Seattle runs $544,576 to $1,362,281, 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 $193,169 for Seattle, a difference of $97,007.
Continue your market research
- Chicago housing marketMetro overview and the full ZIP directory.
- Seattle housing marketMetro overview and the full ZIP directory.
- Moving to Chicago: what housing costsThe same figures read from a mover’s side.
- Moving to Seattle: 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