Homes in Brookside Township cost about a year of local pay, but renters are stretched more than prices suggest
More affordable than 91% of U.S. towns, #34 of 768 in Illinois. Home prices around Brookside Township have risen about 54% over the past 5 years.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area ($80K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
In dollars, homes in Brookside Township cost less than the Illinois typical home. But the grade compares costs with what households in the area earn, and St. Louis-area incomes are lower too ($80K, against $74K for the typical U.S. town). Property tax takes 1.73% of a home’s value a year (Illinois: 2.01%), and 56% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $990a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 95prices across the St. Louis metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 79)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 1.2 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$80K, St. Louis-area income
- 9%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 56%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
Housing in Brookside Township, in brief
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Brookside Township home runs about $790 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $990. Can I afford it? ↓
New renters pay more than renters already here
HUD puts a standard two-bedroom at about $990 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already in Brookside Township pay a median of $630. Renting ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Brookside Township, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Brookside Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Brookside Township is more affordable than 91% of U.S. towns, #34 of 768 in Illinois. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 54% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Brookside Township rose 54% over the past 5 years, faster than across Illinois (47%). Prices were about flat last year. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Brookside Township home at roughly $117,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $117K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Brookside Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A typical home costs about a year of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Brookside Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Brookside Township home, with $162K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $990 a month here, $200 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Brookside Township’s typical property tax (1.73% 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 $990
Renters already here pay a median of $630, 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 (St. Louis, MO-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.
Property tax runs below the Illinois norm
The median bill is $1,640 (Illinois: $5,298), 1.73% 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 Brookside Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the St. Louis, MO-IL 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 | 95 | IL 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 100 | IL 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 70 | IL 85 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | 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.
Brookside Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Brookside Township. Lake Township and Irvington Township and Centralia Township and Sandoval Township have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside Township | A | — | $95K | 1.73% | $990 |
| Centralia Township | – | — | $91K | 1.75% | $990 |
| Irvington Township | A+ | — | $101K | 1.90% | $980 |
| Wamac | – | $42K | $20K | 1.99% | $990 |
| Lake Township | – | — | $127K | 1.68% | $1,090 |
| Meridian Township | – | — | $150K | 1.65% | $1,110 |
| Centralia | A− | $115K | $90K | 1.74% | $990 |
| Sandoval Township | A | — | $80K | 0.94% | $990 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Brookside Township
Is Brookside Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Brookside Township costs less than 91% of U.S. towns: an A for cost of living, #34 of 768 in Illinois. The typical home costs 1.2 years of the median household income of the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area ($80K).
How much is rent in Brookside Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $990 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $630 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Brookside Township?
The median bill is $1,640 a year, 1.73% of the median home value (Illinois: $5,298, 2.01%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Brookside Township buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. 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.