Photo: Soueric · CC BY-SA 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Wilmette costs more to live in than 95% of U.S. towns
It ranks #755 of 768 in Illinois for affordability. Up 13.9% in a year, 3 times 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. Wilmette’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: 29% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 46% of renters.
In dollars
- $1.0Mtypical home, 240% above the Illinois typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,620a 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
- 8.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$91K, Chicago-area income
- 26%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 46%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Illinois: 48%Census 2020–24
- 29%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Wilmette’s housing numbers say
About two in three homes sell above asking
In May, 64% of the homes that sold went for more than the asking price and 77% went under contract within two weeks. There were about 1.5 months of homes for sale at that pace, against 2.6 across Illinois: 66 listings for 44 sales that month. Expect competition on well-priced homes. How fast homes sell ↓
Renting costs far less than owning
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,620 a month. Owning the typical Wilmette home, with 20% down at the calculator’s rate, runs about $6,970 with tax and insurance: more than twice as much. Can I afford it? ↓
Nearly every household owns
88% of Wilmette households own their home, against 67% across Illinois. There are 1,141 renter households. Property taxes ↓
Prices vary a lot across the town lines
Typical values in the towns next door run from $418K in Niles Township to $2.11M in Kenilworth. At $1.01M, Wilmette is the second most expensive of the 6. Vs. neighbors ↓
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 May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Wilmette’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Wilmette is more affordable than 5% of U.S. towns, #755 of 768 in Illinois. Home prices pull the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Values have outpaced Illinois: the typical Wilmette home is up 43.2% in five years, against 29.6% statewide (Zillow).
Up 43.2% in five years
Faster than Illinois (29.6%).
Show as a table
| January | Wilmette | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $639,000 | $179,000 |
| 2018 | $639,000 | $188,000 |
| 2019 | $643,000 | $193,000 |
| 2020 | $622,000 | $198,000 |
| 2021 | $653,000 | $213,000 |
| 2022 | $719,000 | $233,000 |
| 2023 | $767,000 | $246,000 |
| 2024 | $794,000 | $260,000 |
| 2025 | $849,000 | $275,000 |
| 2026 | $933,000 | $287,000 |
| September 2026 | $1,007,000 | $296,000 |
A typical Wilmette home worth $634K in October 2016 is worth about $1.01M today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A strong seller's market
Homes are selling faster than new ones are listed: less than two months of supply. Well-priced homes can draw several offers.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A typical home costs 8.9 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Wilmette’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $700K short of a typical Wilmette home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,620 a month here, $4,350 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, the Illinois typical property tax (2.01% 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 $2,620
Renters already here pay a median of $1,978, 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.
22 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 22 new homes in Wilmette in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $18.6 million to build. That's 0.8 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Illinois (1.6). Over the past 10 years, Wilmette has permitted 383 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Wilmette gained 1,083 residents while 437 new homes were permitted: about 2.5 new residents per new home. Building and growth moved roughly in step.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 20 | 20 | 0 | $22.3 million |
| 2025 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $18.6 million |
| 2024 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $23.4 million |
| 2023 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $17 million |
| 2022 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $15 million |
| 2021 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $15.9 million |
| 2020 | 40 | 24 | 16 | $21 million |
| 2019 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $18.1 million |
| 2018 | 35 | 35 | 0 | $32.4 million |
| 2017 | 62 | 48 | 14 | $44.4 million |
| 2016 | 110 | 35 | 75 | $56.6 million |
| 2015 | 48 | 48 | 0 | $30.4 million |
| 2014 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $26.5 million |
| 2013 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $27.8 million |
| 2012 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $20.1 million |
| 2011 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $15.2 million |
| 2010 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $17.8 million |
| 2009 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $4.9 million |
| 2008 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $6.7 million |
| 2007 | 30 | 30 | 0 | $13.3 million |
| 2006 | 41 | 41 | 0 | $18.2 million |
| 2005 | 55 | 55 | 0 | $24.4 million |
| 2004 | 58 | 58 | 0 | $26.2 million |
| 2003 | 71 | 71 | 0 | $29.6 million |
| 2002 | 42 | 42 | 0 | $16.8 million |
| 2001 | 55 | 55 | 0 | $17.7 million |
| 2000 | 37 | 37 | 0 | $14.5 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
High tax bills, but a low tax rate
The median bill is $10,000+ (Illinois: $5,298), because homes cost more. As a share of value it’s 1.23%+ 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 Wilmette
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.
Wilmette vs. its neighbors
Of the 6 towns here with a Zillow value, Wilmette has the 5th-lowest. New Trier Township and Northfield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmette | D− | $1.0M | $811K | 1.23%+ | $2,620 |
| New Trier Township | D− | — | $963K | 1.04%+ | $2,470 |
| Glenview | D− | $692K | $610K | 1.64%+ | $2,200 |
| Kenilworth | C | $2.1M | $1.6M | 0.64%+ | $2,540 |
| Evanston | D− | $492K | $481K | 1.84% | $2,290 |
| Skokie | D | $427K | $387K | 2.08% | $1,920 |
| Niles Township | D | $418K | $392K | 2.05% | $2,130 |
| Northfield | D | — | $878K | 1.14%+ | $2,410 |
“+”: 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 Wilmette
Is Wilmette expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Wilmette costs more than 95% of U.S. towns: a D− for cost of living, #755 of 768 in Illinois. The typical home costs 8.9 years of the median household income of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area ($91K).
How much does a house cost in Wilmette?
About $1.0M, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 13.9% in a year. The Illinois typical home is $296K.
What salary do you need to live in Wilmette?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $299,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $6,970 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $105,000.
How much is rent in Wilmette?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,620 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,978 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Wilmette?
The median bill is $10,000+ a year, 1.23% of the median home value (Illinois: $5,298, 2.01%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Wilmette going up?
Yes: up 13.9% in the past year and 43.2% in five years, against 29.6% across Illinois (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Wilmette 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, May 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.