Back of the Yards Cost of Living 2026: Rent, New Homes

Key takeaway: A one-bedroom in New City, which includes Back of the Yards and Canaryville, rents for about $1,225 a month in 2026, single-family homes sold for a median $230,000 in 2024, and new homes in Back of the Yards are listed at $315,000 with buyer assistance available.

New City covers Back of the Yards and Canaryville on the South Side, around the old Union Stock Yards between Pershing Road and Garfield Boulevard, with worker cottages, two-flats and big parks. Its typical one-bedroom, about $1,225 a month, runs about $854 below the citywide typical of $2,079 (Zillow, September 2026), the 25th lowest of the 92 areas in our neighborhood comparison.

Typical one-bedroom	$1,225 a month
Typical two-bedroom	$1,235 a month
Income for your own one-bedroom	About $49,000 a year
L lines	None (Red Line nearby)
Metra	None
Part of the city	South Side

At a glance, October 2026. Rents are the figures used in the sample budget below; income is our calculation, rent times 40.

Back of the Yards cost of living: typical one-bedroom $1,225 and two-bedroom $1,235 a month, compared with $2,079 and $2,516 citywide — Typical rents in Back of the Yards and Canaryville compared with the citywide typical (Zillow, September 2026). Neighborhood figures are the ones in the table above; income is our calculation, rent times 40.

On this page: Rent · Getting around · Groceries · Parks · Buying a new home here · Parking · Taxes and home prices · Buyer help · Sample budget

Rent by apartment size

Unit	Zumper, New City (avg., Oct 2026)
Studio	$1,000
1 bedroom	$1,225
2 bedrooms	$1,235
3 bedrooms	$1,600

Source: Zumper New City rent research, as of October 25, 2026, from 29 rentals. RentHop’s Back of the Yards page rested on one or a few listings for most unit sizes, so we left it out. Sources differ because they track different listings; see why rent reports disagree.

Getting around

Buses: #47 47th and #55 Garfield to the Orange Line at Midway and the Red and Green lines to the east, plus #9 Ashland (all night) and #8 Halsted. CTA fares are $2.25 a bus ride and $2.50 a train ride with Ventra, or $75 for a 30-day pass (CTA fares).
L: the Red Line’s 47th and Garfield stations are a short bus ride east on the Dan Ryan.

A 30-day CTA pass is $75 (CTA).

Groceries nearby

Store	Address
ALDI	1508 W. 47th St.
Mariano’s Bridgeport (north)	3145 S. Ashland Ave.
Pete’s Fresh Market 47th and Kedzie (west)	4700 S. Kedzie Ave.

Source: each store’s own location page or locator, checked October 25, 2026. See our Chicago grocery guide.

Parks

Davis Square Park at 4430 S. Marshfield Ave. has a pool, gym, fitness center and boxing gym, and Sherman Park at 1301 W. 52nd St. covers about 58 acres with a pool, fieldhouse, lagoon for fishing and a natural area.

Buying a new home here

The Resurrection Project’s Reclaiming Back of the Yards program has built and sold 19 homes, with 28 more planned for 2026; homes are listed at $315,000, and with assistance a buyer’s mortgage is about $225,000 (ABC7).

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

The Assessor’s 2024 report put New City median sale prices at $205,000 for a condo, $230,000 for a single-family home and $275,000 for a two-to-six-unit building (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). Businesses are in SSA 10 Back of the Yards (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.

Help buying a home

HomeGrown (City of Chicago): purchase grants of $10,000 to $70,000 depending on income and which of two city zones the home is in, for buyers up to 150% of area median income, launched June 2026 with $21 million (Sun-Times).
IHDAccess Home (State of Illinois): up to $15,000 for first-time buyers as a 0% deferred second mortgage (Governor’s office).
Cook County Down Payment Assistance: 5% of the loan, up to $25,000, forgivable over five years (Cook County).

Back of the Yards cost of living: a sample monthly budget

Setup	Rent	CTA pass	Income needed at 30% rent
Your own one-bedroom	$1,225	$75	$49,000
Half of a two-bedroom	$618	$75	$24,720
Your own two-bedroom	$1,235	$75	$49,400

Source: our calculation from the Zumper figures above (half of $1,235, 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 South Side neighborhood profiles: Archer Heights, Ashburn, Auburn Gresham, Avalon Park, Beverly, Bridgeport, Brighton Park, Bronzeville, Burnside, Calumet Heights, Chatham, Chicago Lawn, Chinatown, Clearing, East Side, Englewood, Fuller Park, Gage Park, Garfield Ridge, Greater Grand Crossing, Hegewisch, Hyde Park, Kenwood, McKinley Park, Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood, Oakland, Pullman, Riverdale, Roseland, South Chicago, South Deering, South Shore, Washington Heights, Washington Park, West Elsdon, West Englewood, West Lawn, West Pullman and Woodlawn.

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.

Cost of living in Back of the Yards and Canaryville (New City), Chicago (2026)