Illinois

Home prices in Illinois and Chicago: median value and trend

Median owner-occupied home value: $280,700 in Illinois and $341,200 in Chicago (Census ACS 2024). FHFA: Illinois prices up 5.6% in a year.

Checked on against the official sources listed at the bottom of the page.

In short

The median value of owner-occupied homes is $280,700 in Illinois and $341,200 in the city of Chicago, against $360,600 nationwide (Census ACS 2024). On the FHFA index, Illinois prices up 5.6% and Chicago–Naperville–Schaumburg prices up 5.9% from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026.

The latest one-year ACS estimates cover 2024. The Census Bureau’s release schedule lists the 2025 one-year estimates for October 29, 2026, so the figures below will change at that point.

What it costs: median value in 2024

AreaMedian value, 2024Margin of error (90%)
United States$360,600±$618
Illinois$280,700±$1,768
Chicago–Naperville–Elgin metro area (IL-IN)$339,700±$1,930
Cook County$335,800±$3,115
City of Chicago$341,200±$4,756

Source: Census ACS 2024, table B25077; owners’ own estimates, not sale prices.

Three points stand out:

  • The Illinois median is $79,900 below the national median.
  • The city of Chicago sits $60,500 above the Illinois median. It is only $1,500 above the metro-area median, a gap smaller than the margins of error, so the two are statistically close.
  • The margin of error for the city (±$4,756) is wider than for the state, because the sample is smaller. The true city median is very likely between about $336,400 and $346,000.

How prices have moved: the FHFA index

It is also the first release with purchase-only indexes for large metro divisions such as Chicago–Naperville–Schaumburg.

Area1-year change (Q2 2025 to Q2 2026)5-year change (Q2 2021 to Q2 2026)
United States+2.1%+33.4%
Illinois+5.6%+44.0%
Chicago–Naperville–Schaumburg metro division+5.9%+41.5%

Source: FHFA HPI, purchase-only, Q2 2026 (release of August 25, 2026); changes by Payotte.

Illinois prices rose faster than the national index over both periods: 5.6% against 2.1% in the past year, and 44.0% against 33.4% over five years. The starting point matters, though: the ACS median shows Illinois homes are still cheaper than the national median.

A worked example

A Chicago-area home worth $340,000 in Q2 2021 would be about $481,000 in Q2 2026 on the Chicago–Naperville–Schaumburg index index (+41.5%); over the last year alone it would gain about $26,700 (+5.9%). One home can differ widely.

How to use these figures when buying

Related: Illinois closing costs guide, buying a home in Chicago and Illinois first-time buyer programs.

Method and dataset

ACS median value. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, vintage 2024, table B25077 “Median Value (Dollars)”, variable B25077_001E with margin of error B25077_001M, read through the data.census.gov access API on October 13, 2026, one geography per request. Geographies: United States (0100000US), Illinois (0400000US17), Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area (310M700US16980), Cook County (0500000US17031), Chicago city (1600000US1714000). The definition of value comes from the ACS 2024 Subject Definitions.

FHFA index. FHFA HPI (purchase-only, seasonally adjusted), state series (Illinois), metro series (Chicago–Naperville–Schaumburg, IL metro division, code 16984) and U.S. series. Index values used: Illinois 316.62 (Q2 2025), 232.28 (Q2 2021) and 334.38 (Q2 2026); Chicago–Naperville–Schaumburg 331.83, 248.21 and 351.32; United States 426.58, 326.58 and 435.69. The metro division is narrower than the Census metro area: it covers the Illinois core of the Chicago region.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median home value in Illinois?

Illinois’s 2024 ACS median home value is $280,700 (±$1,768), against $360,600 for the nation: owners’ own estimates, not sale prices.

What is the median home value in Chicago?

For the city of Chicago, the 2024 ACS median value is $341,200 (±$4,756). Cook County is at $335,800 and the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin metro area at $339,700.

Are Illinois home prices going up or down?

FHFA’s purchase-only index shows Illinois prices rose 5.6% over the year to Q2 2026, and the Chicago–Naperville–Schaumburg area rose 5.9%. Over five years, they rose 44.0% and 41.5%.

How Illinois compares with the other States

Illinois ranks 33rd of 50 for median home value ($280,700), 22% below the national $360,600.

The States closest in median value are New Mexico ($279,900) and Pennsylvania ($277,600). The range runs from $170,800 in West Virginia to $875,900 in Hawaii; Illinois is $58,800 below the middle of that ranking (Wyoming).

On the FHFA index, Illinois prices rose 5.6% over the year to the second quarter of 2026, which places the State 4th of 50, 3.5 points ahead of the national +2.1%. Over five years the gain is +44% (9th of 50; nation +33.4%).

Illinois sits in the middle of the pack on at least one of the two measures: 33rd for the level, 4th for the one-year change.

Over five years, Illinois's +44% annualises to +7.6% a year (nation +5.9%). The latest year (+5.6%) is 2 points under that average, a slower pace than the five-year average.

Chicago, the main city, has a median of $341,200, 27th of the 49 main cities Payotte covers. That is 22% above the Illinois median, a premium that ranks 14th of 49.

The one-year FHFA change runs from -1.2% in New Mexico to +8.3% in Alaska. Illinois (+5.6%) is 2.7 points below the top and 6.8 above the bottom; West Virginia (+5.6%) and Hawaii (+5.8%) are the nearest to it.

For scale, 20% of the Illinois median is $56,140, against $72,120 at the national median.

Compare with the other states: Median home price by state.

More Illinois guides

Sources

Illinois · All states · Federal guides