Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Algonquin costs more to live in than 80% of U.S. towns
It ranks #594 of 768 in Illinois for affordability. Up 4.4% in a year, 40% above the Illinois typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area ($91K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Algonquin’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($91K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 19% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 45% of renters.
In dollars
- $414Ktypical home, 40% above the Illinois typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,410a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 104prices across the Chicago metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 112)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$91K, Chicago-area income
- 23%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 45%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Illinois: 48%Census 2020–24
- 19%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Algonquin’s housing numbers say
Building at 3 times the Illinois pace
Builders were permitted 164 new homes in 2025: 5.5 per 1,000 residents, against 1.6 across Illinois. That’s 1,010 in the past 10 years. New homes ↓
Nearly every household owns
88% of Algonquin households own their home, against 67% across Illinois. There are 1,219 renter households. Property taxes ↓
Prices vary a lot across the town lines
Typical values in the towns next door run from $296K in Carpentersville to $1.09M in Barrington Hills. At $414K, Algonquin is the second most expensive of the 5. Vs. neighbors ↓
Fewer people, more homes
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Algonquin lost 346 residents while 712 new homes were permitted. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Algonquin’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Algonquin is more affordable than 20% of U.S. towns, #594 of 768 in Illinois. Property tax pulls the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Values have outpaced Illinois: the typical Algonquin home is up 36.5% in five years, against 29.6% statewide (Zillow).
Up 36.5% in five years
Faster than Illinois (29.6%).
Show as a table
| January | Algonquin | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $240,000 | $179,000 |
| 2018 | $251,000 | $188,000 |
| 2019 | $255,000 | $193,000 |
| 2020 | $263,000 | $198,000 |
| 2021 | $276,000 | $213,000 |
| 2022 | $314,000 | $233,000 |
| 2023 | $341,000 | $246,000 |
| 2024 | $361,000 | $260,000 |
| 2025 | $388,000 | $275,000 |
| 2026 | $404,000 | $287,000 |
| September 2026 | $414,000 | $296,000 |
A typical Algonquin home worth $238K in October 2016 is worth about $414K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A seller's market
Supply is tight — about 3.3 months of homes for sale at the current pace. Buyers should expect competition on well-priced homes.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, September 2026.
A year’s rent takes 23% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Algonquin’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $117K short of a typical Algonquin home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,410 a month here, $550 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Algonquin’s typical property tax (2.29% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,410
Renters already here pay a median of $1,723, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
164 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 164 new homes in Algonquin in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $34.4 million to build. That's 5.5 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Illinois (1.6). Over the past 10 years, Algonquin has permitted 1,010 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Algonquin's population fell by 346 even though 712 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 77 | 77 | 0 | $17.6 million |
| 2025 | 164 | 164 | 0 | $34.4 million |
| 2024 | 178 | 178 | 0 | $41.7 million |
| 2023 | 137 | 137 | 0 | $33 million |
| 2022 | 112 | 112 | 0 | $27.8 million |
| 2021 | 105 | 105 | 0 | $27.6 million |
| 2020 | 119 | 29 | 90 | $22.3 million |
| 2019 | 49 | 49 | 0 | $6.5 million |
| 2018 | 86 | 86 | 0 | $12.3 million |
| 2017 | 33 | 33 | 0 | $10.9 million |
| 2016 | 27 | 27 | 0 | $9.6 million |
| 2015 | 210 | 24 | 186 | $27.9 million |
| 2014 | 81 | 18 | 63 | $14.3 million |
| 2013 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2012 | 220 | 0 | 220 | $21.1 million |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2009 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2008 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $5.7 million |
| 2007 | 33 | 33 | 0 | $8.3 million |
| 2006 | 127 | 119 | 8 | $25.7 million |
| 2005 | 294 | 246 | 48 | $43.8 million |
| 2004 | 287 | 279 | 8 | $42.4 million |
| 2003 | 220 | 220 | 0 | $30.5 million |
| 2002 | 455 | 455 | 0 | $73.8 million |
| 2001 | 594 | 594 | 0 | $87 million |
| 2000 | 398 | 387 | 11 | $73 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Illinois norm
The median bill is $8,025 (Illinois: $5,298), 2.29% of a home’s value a year, against 2.01% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Algonquin
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, or Illinois. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 104 | IL 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 107 | IL 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 84 | IL 85 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 100 | IL 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Algonquin vs. its neighbors
Of the 5 towns here with a Zillow value, Algonquin has the 4th-lowest. Grafton Township and Rutland Township and Dundee Township have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algonquin | C− | $414K | $351K | 2.29% | $2,410 |
| Lake in the Hills | C− | $378K | $322K | 2.31% | $2,100 |
| Cary | C− | $381K | $310K | 2.61% | $1,940 |
| Carpentersville | C+ | $296K | $234K | 2.25% | $1,830 |
| Barrington Hills | D− | $1.1M | $914K | 1.09%+ | $2,660 |
| Rutland Township | D | — | $335K | 2.25% | $2,120 |
| Grafton Township | C− | — | $362K | 2.39% | $1,940 |
| Dundee Township | C− | — | $278K | 2.38% | $1,930 |
“+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that. “—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Algonquin
Is Algonquin expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Algonquin costs more than 80% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #594 of 768 in Illinois. The typical home costs 3.9 years of the median household income of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area ($91K).
How much does a house cost in Algonquin?
About $414K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 4.4% in a year. The Illinois typical home is $296K.
What salary do you need to live in Algonquin?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $127,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,960 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $96,000.
How much is rent in Algonquin?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,410 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,723 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Algonquin?
The median bill is $8,025 a year, 2.29% of the median home value (Illinois: $5,298, 2.01%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Algonquin going up?
Yes: up 4.4% in the past year and 36.5% in five years, against 29.6% across Illinois (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Algonquin buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.