Key takeaway: A one-bedroom in Ravenswood rents for about $1,980 to $2,000 a month in fall 2026, two-bedrooms about $2,670 to $2,830, and both the Brown Line and the rebuilt Ravenswood Metra station serve the neighborhood.
Ravenswood is the eastern part of the Lincoln Square community area, along the Metra tracks and Ravenswood Avenue, with a mix of vintage apartments and converted industrial buildings. Its typical one-bedroom, about $1,981 a month, runs about $98 below the citywide typical of $2,079 (Zillow, September 2026), the 22nd highest of the 92 areas in our neighborhood comparison.
| Typical one-bedroom | $1,981 a month |
| Typical two-bedroom | $2,673 a month |
| Income for your own one-bedroom | About $79,240 a year |
| L lines | Brown |
| Metra | Union Pacific North |
| Part of the city | North Side |
On this page: Rent · Getting around · Groceries · Parking · Taxes and home prices · Sample budget
Rent by apartment size
| Unit | RentHop (avg., Oct 2026) | RentCafe (avg., Sep 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,550 | $1,585 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,995 | $1,981 |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,673 | $2,832 |
| 3 bedrooms | $4,350 | n/a |
Source: RentHop Ravenswood; RentCafe Ravenswood, updated September 1, 2026. Sources differ because they track different listings; see why rent reports disagree.
Getting around
- L: Brown Line at Damen and Montrose. From the City of Chicago’s list of L stops.
- Metra: Ravenswood station at 4800 N. Ravenswood Ave. on the Union Pacific North Line, Zone 2 at $3.75 one way (Metra fares). Metra dedicated the rebuilt $36.1 million station in October 2023 (Metra). See Metra fares.
- Buses: #81 Lawrence, #78 Montrose, #50 Damen and #49 Western.
A 30-day CTA pass is $75 (CTA).
Groceries nearby
| Store | Address |
|---|---|
| Mariano’s Ravenswood | 1800 W. Lawrence Ave. |
| Jewel-Osco Lincoln and Berteau | 4250 N. Lincoln Ave. |
| ALDI | 2431 W. Montrose Ave. |
Source: each store’s own location page or locator, checked October 25, 2026. See our Chicago grocery guide.
Parking
If you will have a car, check your block with the City Clerk’s zone lookup before you sign a lease. Adding a residential permit zone to your City Sticker costs $25 to $35 a year, on top of the $105.18 passenger-car sticker; our parking guide covers guest passes, meters and garages.
Property taxes and home prices
Ravenswood is part of the Lincoln Square community area, where the Assessor’s 2024 report put median sale prices at $299,000 for a condo, $826,000 for a two-to-six-unit building and $904,000 for a single-family home (Cook County Assessor, 2024 Chicago report). Citywide, the median Chicago homeowner bill for tax year 2025, mailed in August 2026, was $4,597, up 3.2% (Cook County Treasurer).
Business districts here are in SSA 21 Lincoln Square and SSA 31 Greater Ravenswood (City of Chicago SSA list). For how bills are set and how to appeal, see our property tax guide, and to weigh owning against renting, our rent vs. buy calculator.
Ravenswood cost of living: a sample monthly budget
| Setup | Rent | CTA pass | Income needed at 30% rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own one-bedroom | $1,981 | $75 | $79,240 |
| Half of a two-bedroom | $1,337 | $75 | $53,480 |
| Your own two-bedroom | $2,673 | $75 | $106,920 |
Source: our calculation from RentCafe’s one-bedroom average and RentHop’s two-bedroom average (half of $2,673, rounded). Income needed is monthly rent times 12, divided by 0.30. For a fuller answer that includes taxes and the rest of your budget, try our Chicago salary calculator, and see Chicago move-in costs for what you’ll pay up front.
Compare every neighborhood side by side in our Chicago neighborhood cost comparison, or work out your own number with our salary calculator. More North Side neighborhood profiles: Andersonville, DePaul and Sheffield, Edgewater, Lakeview, Lakeview East and Northalsted, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, North Center, North Park, Rogers Park, Roscoe Village, Uptown, West Ridge and Wrigleyville.
Costs that apply in every neighborhood: property tax bills, closing costs and condo fees, water, sewer and garbage fees, ComEd and Peoples Gas, CTA fares, parking, average salaries by job and our Chicago cost index.
Sources
- RentHop: Ravenswood rent
- RentCafe: Ravenswood rent
- Metra: Ravenswood
- Metra: new Ravenswood station
- Metra fare table
- City of Chicago: SSA list
- City of Chicago: list of L stops
- CTA fares
- City Clerk: City Sticker prices
- City Clerk: residential zone parking
- Cook County Assessor: 2024 Chicago report
- Cook County Treasurer: tax year 2025 analysis