Some of our key findings this year include:<\/strong> <\/br> Of the 5 cities we looked at, Chicago was the most affordable<\/strong>. Though we commonly reference the 40x rule, which pegs recommended affordability of apartment rent representing 30% of pre-tax income, we added an additional 5% to make room for income growth that has taken place since the Census data was released. <\/br><\/p>\n Of the 70 Chicago neighborhoods that we looked into, just 30 had median rents within reach (43%) <\/strong>of the median income for that neighborhood and three of those were right at the limit. Below, we\u2019ve mapped out all the neighborhoods and their affordability. Further down is a table with all available neighborhoods, rents, and incomes.<\/p>\n To determine what is and is not affordable, RentHop data scientists used the most recent Census’ American Community Survey data<\/a> for median household income as well as our own rental data.<\/p>\n The 40x Rule \u2013 30% of Income<\/strong><\/p>\n You may have heard you shouldn\u2019t spend more than 30% of your income on rent. The way the math works out, your household’s yearly income should be 40 times the monthly rent to afford an apartment and many landlords won\u2019t accept anyone who doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n For example: Gold Coast’s (zip code: 60611) $3,000 median two-bedroom rent would require household income of $120,000 to secure and the median household income is only $92,545. The average household would be spending nearly 40% of their income to rent a new apartment.<\/strong> Not good, but other neighborhoods are much worse!<\/p>\n There are exceptions to the rule: If you have vast savings or a guarantor whom makes 80 times the rent, a landlord is likely to let you slide without meeting the income requirements. It\u2019s also not unheard of for a landlord to request last month\u2019s rent in addition to the first month and security deposit for those with below average credit \/ income. Our \u201chow much can I afford<\/a>\u201d guide can give you a little more info on these rules and some ways to overcome them.<\/p>\n So how much income DO <\/strong>you need in order to live in a Chicago neighborhood?<\/p>\n
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\nAffordability Across Cities<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nWith 35% being our benchmark, the number of zipcodes within a city that are affordable is as follows:<\/p>\n\n
The Map Below Shows Income Required for a 2-Bedroom Apartment in Chicago<\/strong><\/h2>\n
