Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetIL-CHICAGO-IL · Chicago, IL 2,707,648 pop · income 56th pct · 1,332 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Chicago
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Chicago on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Rockford · lowest
53,328
Rockford · lowest
53,328 median HH income
35.3% of the leader · rank #1
San Marine · near
75,123
San Marine · near
75,123 median HH income
49.8% of the leader · rank #2
Diggins · near
75,125
Diggins · near
75,125 median HH income
49.8% of the leader · rank #3
Gallatin · near
75,125
Gallatin · near
75,125 median HH income
49.8% of the leader · rank #4
Chicago · this city
75,134
Chicago · this city
75,134 median HH income
49.8% of the leader · rank #5
Sherwood · near
75,147
Sherwood · near
75,147 median HH income
49.8% of the leader · rank #6
Naperville · highest
150,937
Naperville · highest
150,937 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Chicago on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 2,707,648.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Chicago - the verdict
Nationally, Chicago sits in the 56th percentile for household income and the 7th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
56th
percentile, household income
67th
percentile, home value
18th
percentile, median rent
7th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Chicago, IL
Illinois's Chicago is a major U.S. city, with 2,707,648 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Chicago report a median income of $75,134 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 13.0%. Typical homes in Chicago are valued around $315,200, and the median resident age is 35.7 years. About 43.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 62.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 4,371 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 45% from five years earlier. Chicago's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 4012.2 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, above the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 51.2°F with 37.9 inches of precipitation per year and 38.4 inches of snowfall.
Illinois tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Illinois at 100.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,063 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Illinois run around $240, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. The average commute for Chicago workers runs 27.4 minutes, with 46.0% driving alone and 18.3% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 54.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Chicago's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to climate and hazard context to work and mobility to within-city variation to population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Chicago, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Chicago?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 4012.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 76% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 51.2°F, with 37.9 inches of precipitation and 38.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Illinois is 54.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
What can 1332 Census tracts reveal inside Chicago?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 1332 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Chicago?
Within Illinois, the closest population matches are Aurora (179,867 residents, $90,109 income); Joliet (149,785 residents, $88,026 income); Naperville (149,424 residents, $150,937 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Houston, TX (2,300,419 residents); Phoenix, AZ (1,624,832 residents); Philadelphia, PA (1,582,432 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Chicago?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 46.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 27.4 minutes.
Public transit
19.3%
Work from home
18.3%
Drive alone
46.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,352,444 workers age 16+.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -10,055 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4,371 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-0.4%
2025 estimate
2,731,585
2020 estimate
2,741,640
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
The NCES join finds 633 public schools within the city match. 43.3% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
633
Bachelor's degree+
43.3%
Poverty estimate
13.0%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Chicago?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 13.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$75,134
Home value
$315,200
Value / income
4.2×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 13.0% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average
D
City profile score · Chicago, IL
42/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share B+
43.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C
$75,134
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living D
100.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate F
13.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
540 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Chicago profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 78/100 (B+) · 43.3%
Household income: 55/100 (C) · $75,134
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Poverty rate: 28/100 (F) · 13.0%
Violent crime: 13/100 (F) · 540 /100k
Where Chicago sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Chicago's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Chicago highlighted among 13 peers.Read the chart values
Chicago, IL (this city): home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Aurora, IL : home $260,400, crime 1,518/100k
Joliet, IL : home $248,600, crime 1,595/100k
Naperville, IL : home $509,900, crime 967/100k
Rockford, IL : home $120,900, crime 3,597/100k
Elgin, IL : home $252,400, crime 1,369/100k
Springfield, IL : home $155,200, crime 5,813/100k
How does Chicago compare to other US cities?
Here's how Chicago stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income56% higher than other cities
Home value67% pricier than other cities
Median rent18% pricier than other cities
Safety7% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Illinois and the picture shifts: Chicago ranks #442 of 455 Illinois cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Chicago against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Illinois only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Illinois-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Chicago near the bottom of Illinois's cities
Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Chicago ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Chicago only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#494 of 1,311
62nd percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Median Home Value
#133 of 1,315
90th percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#319 of 1,335
76th percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#156 of 1,336
88th percentile in Illinois
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Illinois only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
56th percentile nationally for median household income · 7th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Chicago's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Chicago's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Chicago's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$315,20033rd percentilemore affordable than 33% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Chicago's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,222 of 15,516
More affordable than 28% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4 of 9
Major cities (1 million+)
At 4.2×, Chicago sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,222 of 15,516 and #4 of 9major cities (1 million+).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$75,134Chicago, IL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Chicago, IL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Chicago, IL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)43.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)13.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,707,648
Median Income
$75,134
Median Home Value
$315,200
Median Age
35.7
Poverty Rate
13.0%
Labor force participation
62.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
43.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
4012.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
539.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3472.4
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
51.2°F
Annual Precipitation
37.9"
Annual Snowfall
38.4"
Schools
Total Schools
633
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Chicago's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,741,640 residents
2021
2,705,934 residents
2022
2,680,609 residents
2023
2,698,758 residents
2024
2,726,332 residents
2025
2,731,585 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
4,371
housing units authorized
Single-Family
325
detached homes
Multifamily
4,046
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
7,914
410
7,504
$913.6M
2020
4,133
248
3,885
$538.0M
2021
5,341
414
4,927
$694.1M
2022
7,124
412
6,712
$1166.5M
2023
3,616
290
3,326
$796.2M
2024
4,371
325
4,046
$1080.8M
Permit volume decreased 45% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
27.4 minutes
Drive Alone
46.0%
Carpool
7.4%
Public Transit
19.3%
Walk
5.7%
Work from Home
18.3%
Other
3.3%
Based on 1,352,444 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Illinois statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $240
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Illinois at $240 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Illinois statewide averages, not a meter reading for Chicago. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Illinois's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Chicago is $1,063/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Illinois statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 54.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Illinois statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Chicago sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Chicago compares to similar-size Illinois cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.