Key takeaway: A one-bedroom in Lincoln Square rents for about $1,700 to $1,900 a month in fall 2026, two-bedrooms about $2,170 to $2,500, and the Brown Line plus Metra’s Ravenswood station get you downtown.
Lincoln Square is on the North Side around Lincoln, Western and Lawrence, with the Brown Line and the Ravenswood Metra line running through it. It’s one of the more affordable neighborhoods with this much rail service. Its typical one-bedroom, about $1,897 a month, runs about $182 below the citywide typical of $2,079 (Zillow, September 2026), the 23rd highest of the 92 areas in our neighborhood comparison.
| Typical one-bedroom | $1,897 a month |
| Typical two-bedroom | $2,495 a month |
| Income for your own one-bedroom | About $75,880 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 | Zumper (avg., Oct 2026) | RentHop (Oct 2026) | RentHop, ZIP 60625 (median, Jul 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,475 | $1,400 | $1,438 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,897 | $1,700 | $1,799 |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,495 | $2,173 | $2,200 |
| 3 bedrooms | $3,272 | $2,700 | $2,900 |
Source: Zumper Lincoln Square rent research, updated October 22, 2026; RentHop Lincoln Square; RentHop 60625. Sources differ because they track different listings; see why rent reports disagree.
Getting around
- L: Brown Line at Western, Rockwell and Damen. From the City of Chicago’s list of L stops.
- Metra: Ravenswood station on the Union Pacific North Line, at 4800 N. Ravenswood Ave., is Zone 2: $3.75 one way or $75 a month (Metra fares). See Metra fares.
- Buses: #49 Western (runs overnight), #50 Damen, #78 Montrose, #81 Lawrence and #11 Lincoln, which runs daytime only.
A 30-day CTA pass is $75 (CTA).
Groceries nearby
| Store | Address |
|---|---|
| Gene’s Sausage Shop and Delicatessen | 4750 N. Lincoln Ave. |
| HarvesTime Foods | 2632 W. Lawrence Ave. |
| ALDI | 2431 W. Montrose Ave. |
| Jewel-Osco Lincoln and Berteau (just south) | 4250 N. Lincoln 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
Western Avenue is a township line here: the area west of Western is in Jefferson Township (Jefferson Township) and the area east is in Lake View Township. The Assessor’s 2024 report put Lincoln Square 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). The Treasurer put the 2024 median sale price for the West Ridge, Lincoln Square and North Center area at $670,000 (Cook County Treasurer, tax year 2024 report). Citywide, the median Chicago homeowner bill for tax year 2025, mailed in August 2026, was $4,597, up 3.2% (Cook County Treasurer).
Properties along the main business streets are in Special Service Area 21, which funds services run by the local chamber (City Council levy ordinance). For how bills are set and how to appeal, see our property tax guide.
Lincoln Square cost of living: a sample monthly budget
| Setup | Rent | CTA pass | Income needed at 30% rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own one-bedroom | $1,897 | $75 | $75,880 |
| Half of a two-bedroom | $1,248 | $75 | $49,920 |
| Your own two-bedroom | $2,495 | $75 | $99,800 |
Source: our calculation from the Zumper averages above (half of $2,495, rounded). Income needed is monthly rent times 12, divided by 0.30. See how much you need to make to live in Chicago for the rest of the budget, and 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, North Center, North Park, Ravenswood, 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
- Zumper: Lincoln Square rent
- RentHop: Lincoln Square rent
- RentHop: 60625 rent
- City of Chicago: list of L stops
- Metra: Ravenswood station
- Metra fare table
- CTA fares
- City Clerk: residential zone parking
- Cook County Assessor: 2024 Chicago report
- Cook County Treasurer: tax year 2024 report
- Cook County Treasurer: tax year 2025 analysis
- City Council: SSA 21 levy