How much house can I afford in Chicago?

The practical answer

Chicago is one of the few big metros where the house itself is affordable but the property taxes are the story. Across Chicagoland, effective rates run from about 1.1% of home value in Cook County to 1.8–2.5% in DuPage, Lake, Kane, and McHenry counties — two to three times the national big-city norm. Illinois also taxes income at a flat 4.95%.

A worked example: a couple earning $220,000 in Lincoln Park with $180,000 invested, a $35,000 cushion, $300/month assessments, and a 30-year fixed at 6.75% models out to roughly an $870,000 home with about $90,000 down and a payment near $5,900/month including Cook County property tax. The same buyers in a high-tax collar-county suburb would afford meaningfully less house at the same payment.

• City of Chicago (Cook County) effective property tax runs ~1.1%; collar counties like DuPage and Lake often run 1.8–2.5% — check your specific suburb before setting a budget.
• Condo assessments in Lakeview, Lincoln Park, River North, and the Loop act like extra mortgage payment and directly reduce affordability.
• Illinois' flat 4.95% income tax is milder than New York or California — a $220k Chicagoland household keeps more take-home than coastal peers.
• The Cook vs. collar-county tax gap means the "same" budget buys a very different house in Naperville vs. North Center.

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