Key takeaway: With Chicago’s median $389,900 home price, 20% down and a 7.32% mortgage rate, owning costs about $3,000 a month in the first year compared with $2,533 to rent a typical two-bedroom, but if prices and rents both grow 3% a year, buying pulls ahead after about five years in our calculation.
Whether to rent or buy in Chicago comes down to how long you’ll stay and what you assume about prices. This calculator starts with real Chicago figures, the median sale price, today’s mortgage rate and the median property tax bill, and lets you change everything.
Should you rent or buy in Chicago?
Starting values are Chicago medians and current rates. Change anything; results update as you type.
| Buy | Rent |
|---|
Simplified estimate for comparison only: no PMI, no tax deductions, flat property tax and insurance. Not financial advice.
How long until buying wins
| Years you stay | Result with the starting values |
|---|---|
| 2 | Renting ahead by about $24,200 |
| 3 | Renting ahead by about $16,800 |
| 4 | Renting ahead by about $7,900 |
| 5 | Buying ahead by about $2,500 |
| 7 | Buying ahead by about $27,800 |
| 10 | Buying ahead by about $78,200 |
Source: our calculation with the starting values above: $389,900 price, 20% down, 7.32% rate, $4,597 property tax, $150 insurance, 1% upkeep, 3% closing and 6% selling costs, $2,516 rent, and 3% yearly growth in home values and rent. Buying and selling costs are why short stays usually favor renting.
What changes the answer
- Home price growth. With the same starting values but no price growth, renting comes out about $56,500 ahead after seven years.
- Condo fees. A $250,000 condo with a $400 monthly association fee and a $3,500 tax bill, compared with $1,800 rent, still favors renting by about $16,200 after five years.
- The rate. Each change in the mortgage rate moves the monthly payment; try a lower rate to see the effect of refinancing later.
- Taxes. The 2026 federal standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers (Journal of Accountancy), so many Chicago buyers won’t itemize mortgage interest. This calculator leaves tax deductions out.
Source: our calculation using the calculator above.
Where the starting numbers come from
- Home price: City of Chicago median sale price of $389,900 in September 2026, up 8.3% from a year earlier (Illinois Realtors).
- Mortgage rate: 7.32% average 30-year fixed as of October 22, 2026 (Freddie Mac).
- Property tax: $4,597 median Chicago homeowner bill for tax year 2025 (Cook County Treasurer). Your bill depends on your home’s assessed value; see our property tax guide.
- Rent: $2,516 typical two-bedroom from our Chicago rent guide, and $17 renters insurance from our renters insurance guide.
- Home insurance, upkeep, closing and selling costs, growth rates and investment return are assumptions for you to adjust, not measured Chicago figures.
For neighborhood home prices and rents side by side, see our neighborhood cost comparison, and for the salary you need, our salary calculator.
If the numbers point toward buying, our sister site ChicagoFirstTimeHomebuyer.com, which Joe also runs, walks first-time buyers through the Chicago buying process and what it costs to buy.