The 10 Cheapest Chicago, IL Neighborhoods To Live In For 2022


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Chicago are the cheapest of the cheap.

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Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I'd much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I'd rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in Chicago might be more expensive than living in rural Illinois, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

So what exactly are those Chicago neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further -- you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Chicago are the cheapest.

What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Chicago for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Ashburn looks to be the cheaptest Chicago neighborhood to live in.

At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for -- some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Chicago. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Chicago that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in Chicago.

Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.

For more Illinois reading, check out:

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Chicago For 2022

1. Ashburn

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 43,133
Cost Of Living Index: 99 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.007 (6th cheapest)
More on Ashburn: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Hegewisch

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 9,039
Cost Of Living Index: 99 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.01 (8th cheapest)
More on Hegewisch: Homes For Sale | Data

3. Mount Greenwood

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 18,990
Cost Of Living Index: 105 (40th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.005 (2nd cheapest)
More on Mount Greenwood: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Clearing

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 24,934
Cost Of Living Index: 100 (26th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (13th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (9th cheapest)
More on Clearing: Homes For Sale | Data

5. Pullman

Pullman Chicago, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Klio0701 | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 6,565
Cost Of Living Index: 93 (5th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (33rd cheapest)
More on Pullman: Homes For Sale | Data

6. Garfield Ridge

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 35,441
Cost Of Living Index: 102 (34th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.9 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.008 (7th cheapest)
More on Garfield Ridge: Homes For Sale | Data

7. South Deering

South Deering Chicago, IL

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL with disclaimers
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 14,598
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.022 (5cheapest)
More on South Deering: Homes For Sale | Data

8. West Lawn

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 33,314
Cost Of Living Index: 102 (34th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.1 (18th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (10th cheapest)
More on West Lawn: Homes For Sale | Data

9. Morgan Park

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 23,647
Cost Of Living Index: 106 (44th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.7 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (11th cheapest)
More on Morgan Park: Homes For Sale | Data

10. Washington Heights

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 26,845
Cost Of Living Index: 101 (30th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (30th cheapest)
More on Washington Heights: Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Chicago Hoods In 2022

In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Chicago, we had to determine what criteria defines "cheap".

Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 77 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the "Cheapest City Neighborhood In Chicago." We're lookin' at you, Ashburn.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the cheapest places Chicago. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Chicago

If you're measuring the neighborhoods in Chicago where prices are low and it's cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Chicago aren't all cheap. Armour Square takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Chicago.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Chicago For 2022

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Ashburn 99
2 Hegewisch 99
3 Mount Greenwood 105
4 Clearing 100
5 Pullman 93
6 Garfield Ridge 102
7 South Deering 92
8 West Lawn 102
9 Morgan Park 106
10 Washington Heights 101
11 Calumet Heights 102
12 East Side 99
13 West Elsdon 104
14 South Chicago 92
15 Beverly 115
16 Riverdale 86
17 Chatham 97
18 Avalon Park 102
19 Gage Park 98
20 Roseland 98
21 West Pullman 98
22 New City 94
23 Montclare 106
24 Englewood 90
25 West Englewood 97
26 Edison Park 122
27 Norwood Park 115
28 Auburn Gresham 95
29 Douglas 99
30 O'hare 101
31 Forest Glen 129
32 Oakland 98
33 Dunning 112
34 Chicago Lawn 98
35 Grand Crossing 97
36 Burnside 96
37 Archer Heights 106
38 Jefferson Park 119
39 South Lawndale 98
40 Austin 99
41 North Park 114
42 Loop 131
43 Pottage Park 115
44 Humboldt Park 100
45 Brighton Park 104
46 Washington Park 98
47 Uptown 109
48 West Ridge 113
49 Near West Side 116
50 Fuller Park 96
51 Lake View 133
52 Mckinley Park 106
53 Belmont Cragin 109
54 Near South Side 129
55 Albany Park 117
56 Irving Park 121
57 Grand Boulevard 104
58 Edgewater 112
59 Near North Side 138
60 Logan Square 126
61 Lincoln Park 148
62 North Lawndale 101
63 Lincoln Square 132
64 West Town 133
65 North Center 153
66 Lower West Side 107
67 Woodlawn 100
68 Hyde Park 120
69 Rogers Park 108
70 Kenwood 112
71 Bridgeport 114
72 East Garfield Park 101
73 Hermosa 109
74 Avondale 120
75 West Garfield Park 102
76 South Shore 105
77 Armour Square 108

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our third time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Chicago.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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