After months of tiresome, big-budget rents, are prices finally going down in Chicago? Maybe a little, according to Apartment List’s January Rent Report—but the findings might surprise you.
Median rent in Chicago fell by 1.1% in December and has now increased by a total of 5.5% year-over-year. Chicago’s rent growth over the past year has fallen behind the state average of 6.6% but higher still than the U.S. average of 4%.
While an increase of 5.5% year-over-year might sound high, but it’s nothing compared to the rate of growth experienced at this point last year. From January to December 2021, Apartment List found that rents had increased 15.6%.
Conversely, a 1.1% decline in rents might not sound like much, but it beats the national rate of -0.8%. Among the largest 100 cities in the U.S., Chicago ranks No. 69, similar to the monthly rent growth that took place in Boise, Idaho (-1.1%) and New Orleans, Louisiana (-1.1%).
It can also be analyzed by apartment size.
The median rent is currently $1,277 for a one-bedroom apartment, $1,386 for a two-bedroom and $1,375 across all bedroom sizes (i.e., the entire rental market) citywide. These numbers rank No. 56 among the largest 100 cities in the U.S., based on the report.
For comparison, the median rent across the nation as a whole is $1,153 for a one-bedroom, $1,321 for a two-bedroom and $1,344 overall. This means the median rent in Chicago is 2.3% higher and is similar to the prices you’d find in Durham, North Carolina and Fayetteville, North Carolina.
How does Chicago compare to its neighbors? The median rent across Chicagoland is $1,360, meaning that the median price in Chicago ($1,375) is 1.1% more than the price across the metro as a whole. This is not surprising, but what is surprising is that this number isn’t greater. Metro-wide annual rent growth is 6.5%, above the rate of rent growth within just Chicago, meaning the suburbs are quickly getting more expensive.
Cities like Naperville, Schaumburg, Mount Prospect, Lombard, Lisle, to name a few, are already more expensive in terms of monthly one- and two-bedroom rent and many reflected a higher monthly and yearly rent growth, according to Apartment List.
