Photo: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Lyons costs more to live in than 71% of U.S. towns
It ranks #494 of 768 in Illinois for affordability.
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. Lyons’ 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: 34% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 51% of renters.
In dollars
- $1,410a 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
- 2.8 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$91K, Chicago-area income
- 16%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 51%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Illinois: 48%Census 2020–24
- 34%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What stands out about housing in Lyons
What’s behind Lyons’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Lyons is more affordable than 29% of U.S. towns, #494 of 768 in Illinois. Property tax pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 42% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Lyons rose 42% over the past 5 years, slower than across Illinois (47%). Last year prices rose 6.5%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Lyons home at roughly $295,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $295K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Lyons, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 7 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 2.8 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Lyons’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Lyons home, with $0K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,410 a month here, $710 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Lyons’s typical property tax (2.34% 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 $1,410
Renters already here pay a median of $1,198, 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.
1 new home permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1 new home in Lyons in 2025. That's 0.1 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Illinois (1.6). Over the past 10 years, Lyons has permitted 15 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Lyons gained 88 residents while 13 new homes were permitted: about 6.8 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $265,000 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $526,000 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $440,000 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $300,000 |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $140,000 |
| 2016 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $375,000 |
| 2015 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $260,000 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $125,000 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $120,000 |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $105,000 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $137,000 |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $160,000 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 26 | 2 | 24 | $3 million |
| 2005 | 17 | 3 | 14 | $2 million |
| 2004 | 49 | 3 | 46 | $7.1 million |
| 2003 | 53 | 1 | 52 | $6.8 million |
| 2002 | 90 | 4 | 86 | $1.5 million |
| 2001 | 122 | 2 | 120 | $7 million |
| 2000 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $360,000 |
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 $6,016 (Illinois: $5,298), 2.34% 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 Lyons
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.
Lyons vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Lyons. Riverside Township has no Zillow value, so it is 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyons | C | — | $257K | 2.34% | $1,410 |
| McCook | – | — | $332K | 3.01%+ | $1,740 |
| Riverside | C− | $564K | $491K | 2.04%+ | $1,600 |
| Lyons Township | C− | $280K | $364K | 2.07% | $1,740 |
| Riverside Township | D | — | $415K | 2.39% | $1,590 |
| Brookfield | C− | $360K | $332K | 2.42% | $1,580 |
| Summit | C | $283K | $233K | 2.35% | $1,320 |
| Forest View | – | $303K | $261K | 2.42% | $1,510 |
“—” 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). “+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that.
Questions about the cost of living in Lyons
Is Lyons expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Lyons costs more than 71% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #494 of 768 in Illinois. The typical home costs 2.8 years of the median household income of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area ($91K).
How much is rent in Lyons?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,410 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,198 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Lyons?
The median bill is $6,016 a year, 2.34% of the median home value (Illinois: $5,298, 2.01%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Lyons buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits 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.