Chicago is often cited as one of the more affordable major cities in the country, and even with the Windy City experiencing an apartment boom, Chicago's rep for being a relatively affordable place to live continues to hold steady. According to data from a new report released by apartment search site Lovely, overall median rent prices in Chicago have actually gone down by a minuscule 1.66% compared to prices from this same period last year. Rent prices for one and two bedrooms have dropped a bit since last year's peak, however, rents for studios have skyrocketed by 40%. For the second quarter of this year, the report puts the median studio rent in Chicago at $1,298 per month, with the overall median being $1,600 per month.
Of the cities profiled, Chicago comes in as the most affordable city to rent in, beating out New York, LA, San Francisco and Washington DC. The report, which states that its info was compiled from "70 data partners", shows that San Francisco's median rent ($3,285 per month) is more than twice that of Chicago's. So what's the most and least expensive Chicago neighborhood to rent in? Surprisingly, Lovely crowns Goose Island as the priciest neighborhood with a median rate just under $2,400 per month and the South Side's Chatham receives the nod for least expensive with a median rent rate of roughly $750 per month.
·Lovely Releases Q2 2014 Lovely Rental Market Report [Market Wired]
·Previous Market Reports [Curbed Chicago]