Are apartment rents affordable anywhere in Chicago?
That’s the question that RentHop asks in its latest study. And the answer isn’t a great one for renters: According to the company, less than one-third of Chicago neighborhoods had apartment rents that were affordable to residents earning these areas’ median incomes.
Of the 69 Chicago neighborhoods that RentHop studied, just 21 had median rents that were within reach of the median income for that neighborhood.
RentHop found that Armour Square was the least affordable neighborhood when it comes to apartment rents. That’s in part because of the high median two-bedroom rent here of $1,995 a month. At the same time, Armour Square residents have a relatively low median income of $23,590 a year. Renters would have to spend more than 100 percent of the neighborhood’s area household income to afford the average apartment here.
RentHop ranked East Garfield Park as the second least affordable neighborhood for renters. The median two-bedroom monthly rent here is $1,375, while the median income of residents in East Garfield Park is just $22,103. This means that renters here have to spend almost 75 percent of the area’s median household income to find a typical apartment unit..
