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If you guessed that many of Illinois' most expensive places are located around Chicago, you guessed right. The northeast corner of Illinois has a long history of exorbitant home prices, high property taxes, and people who can afford to pay these premium price tags.
Yes, Illinoisans can thank famous mobsters like Al Capone, professional athletes like Michael Jordan, and the CEOs of the state's 36 Fortune 500 companies for driving up the cost in the state's most expensive places. More importantly, you can thank HomeSnacks for creating a list of the most expensive places in Illinois for 2021 so that anyone thinking about moving to The Land of Lincoln will know how to navigate the state's pricey pockets.
Before you head down to our list of Illinois' top ten most expensive places, it's important to note how we calculated our list. First, we looked at the American Community Survey for places with at least 5,000 residents. We then looked at the home to income ratio and the rent to income ratio for each place. This left us with 329 Illinois places that will require you to make at least $58,247/year to offset your cost of living.
So, if you want to know what it's going to take to live in one of the most expensive places in one of the most expensive states in America, take a look below.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Illinois for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in Illinois? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Lincolnshire is the most expensive place to live in Illinois.
So hopefully Litchfield (the cheapest place to live in Illinois) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Illinois and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Illinois For 2021
/10
Population: 7,572
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 41.7x (13th most expensive)
More on Lincolnshire: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Lincolnshire comes in at $116,316 and the median home value is $508,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 5,310
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.6x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 49.3x (30th most expensive)
More on Highwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Highwood comes in at $63,388 and the median home value is $354,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 12,434
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.2x (23rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 50.2x (33rd most expensive)
More on Lincolnwood: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Lincolnwood comes in at $95,030 and the median home value is $396,100 for 2021.
/10
Population: 74,587
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.0x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.3x (80th most expensive)
More on Evanston: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Evanston comes in at $78,904 and the median home value is $391,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 23,089
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.7x (44th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 46.8x (23rd most expensive)
More on Morton Grove: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Morton Grove comes in at $85,360 and the median home value is $317,200 for 2021.
/10
Population: 24,931
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 7)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 56.6x (70th most expensive)
More on Westmont: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Westmont comes in at $64,416 and the median home value is $301,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 2,709,534
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 52.4x (46th most expensive)
More on Chicago: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Chicago comes in at $58,247 and the median home value is $258,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 29,451
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 56.8x (72nd most expensive)
More on Niles: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Niles comes in at $64,772 and the median home value is $284,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 63,821
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 6)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (13th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.5x (84th most expensive)
More on Skokie: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Skokie comes in at $73,046 and the median home value is $318,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 33,343
Rank Last Year: 12 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (20th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 60.7x (115th most expensive)
More on Northbrook: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Northbrook comes in at $124,863 and the median home value is $534,800 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Prairie State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Illinois to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 329 places in Illinois that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Illinois according to the data is Lincolnshire. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Illinois For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in Illinois that have the highest cost of living, with Lincolnshire ranking as the most expensive city in the Prairie State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Illinois according to the data:
- Litchfield
- Clinton
- Pana
For more Illinois reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Illinois
- Cheapest Places To Live In Illinois
- Most Dangerous Cities In Illinois
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Illinois
- Safest Places In Illinois
- Worst Places To Live In Illinois
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Illinois
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincolnshire | 14.0 |
| 2 | Highwood | 24.0 |
| 3 | Lincolnwood | 28.67 |
| 4 | Evanston | 38.33 |
| 5 | Morton Grove | 40.33 |
| 6 | Westmont | 45.0 |
| 7 | Chicago | 46.17 |
| 8 | Niles | 49.17 |
| 9 | Skokie | 50.0 |
| 10 | Northbrook | 50.33 |
| 11 | Elmwood Park | 51.83 |
| 12 | Willowbrook | 64.0 |
| 13 | Inverness | 64.33 |
| 14 | Glenview | 64.67 |
| 15 | North Riverside | 66.0 |
| 16 | Norridge | 69.0 |
| 17 | Schiller Park | 75.67 |
| 18 | Burr Ridge | 77.0 |
| 19 | Melrose Park | 77.33 |
| 20 | Gilberts | 79.33 |
| 21 | Rolling Meadows | 79.67 |
| 22 | Countryside | 80.33 |
| 23 | Bloomingdale | 80.33 |
| 24 | Forest Park | 80.67 |
| 25 | Urbana | 80.67 |
| 26 | Winfield | 80.67 |
| 27 | Northfield | 81.0 |
| 28 | Justice | 81.33 |
| 29 | Wood Dale | 81.33 |
| 30 | Lombard | 82.67 |
| 31 | Des Plaines | 83.33 |
| 32 | Bensenville | 84.5 |
| 33 | Carbondale | 84.67 |
| 34 | Campton Hills | 85.67 |
| 35 | Harwood Heights | 88.0 |
| 36 | Vernon Hills | 88.0 |
| 37 | Pingree Grove | 89.33 |
| 38 | Long Grove | 91.0 |
| 39 | Schaumburg | 92.33 |
| 40 | Huntley | 92.33 |
| 41 | Prospect Heights | 92.67 |
| 42 | Mount Prospect | 93.67 |
| 43 | Addison | 93.67 |
| 44 | Lisle | 95.33 |
| 45 | Arlington Heights | 96.0 |
| 46 | Lake Bluff | 96.33 |
| 47 | Dekalb | 96.67 |
| 48 | Summit | 97.67 |
| 49 | Palatine | 100.17 |
| 50 | Hillside | 101.33 |
| 51 | Champaign | 101.33 |
| 52 | Chicago Ridge | 102.33 |
| 53 | Downers Grove | 102.67 |
| 54 | Cicero | 102.83 |
| 55 | Woodridge | 103.67 |
| 56 | River Grove | 103.67 |
| 57 | Barrington | 104.0 |
| 58 | Palos Hills | 104.17 |
| 59 | Park Ridge | 104.33 |
| 60 | Burbank | 105.33 |
| 61 | Wheeling | 106.0 |
| 62 | Willow Springs | 106.33 |
| 63 | Crest Hill | 106.67 |
| 64 | Elk Grove Village | 107.0 |
| 65 | Lake Forest | 107.67 |
| 66 | Bridgeview | 108.0 |
| 67 | Wheaton | 108.33 |
| 68 | Glendale Heights | 109.0 |
| 69 | Hoffman Estates | 109.67 |
| 70 | Northlake | 110.0 |
| 71 | Homer Glen | 110.33 |
| 72 | Oak Park | 110.67 |
| 73 | Elmhurst | 111.67 |
| 74 | Oak Lawn | 112.0 |
| 75 | Hinsdale | 113.33 |
| 76 | Highland Park | 114.33 |
| 77 | Roselle | 114.67 |
| 78 | Broadview | 115.0 |
| 79 | Winnetka | 115.0 |
| 80 | Palos Heights | 115.0 |
| 81 | Westchester | 115.33 |
| 82 | River Forest | 115.67 |
| 83 | Wilmette | 116.33 |
| 84 | Itasca | 116.5 |
| 85 | Maywood | 117.67 |
| 86 | Berwyn | 118.0 |
| 87 | Clarendon Hills | 118.33 |
| 88 | Deerfield | 119.67 |
| 89 | Lake Barrington | 120.67 |
| 90 | Hickory Hills | 121.33 |
| 91 | Villa Park | 122.33 |
| 92 | Glen Ellyn | 122.33 |
| 93 | Western Springs | 122.67 |
| 94 | La Grange | 123.33 |
| 95 | Buffalo Grove | 123.33 |
| 96 | Posen | 123.33 |
| 97 | Glencoe | 124.0 |
| 98 | Streamwood | 124.33 |
| 99 | Darien | 125.67 |
| 100 | Geneva | 126.33 |
