Yields across 167 suburbs in Chicago (Cook County) range from 11.5% in Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) down to under 2% in lakefront and North Shore premium areas. That spread is wider than the gap between short-term rental and long-term rental at the city level, which means where you buy matters more than how you rent it out. This ranking shows which suburbs lead on gross yield and why the pattern exists.
The Chicago metro presents an unusually wide yield spread for a major US city, driven by the contrast between affordable working-class suburbs on the South Side and the South Suburbs versus high-priced lakefront and North Shore communities. For investors hunting yield, the geography is the strategy.
Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) Leads at 11.5%, Nearly Double the City Median
Gross yields = annual income / sale price. Based on 3-bed house medians. The dashboard shows every property type and bedroom count.
Why the Top Suburbs Lead on Yield
The top of the yield ranking is dominated by South Side Chicago neighborhoods and South Suburb communities where home prices have stayed relatively low while rents have held up surprisingly well. Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) delivers 11.5% from a sale price of about $270,000 and monthly rent of about $2,600. Beverly and Morgan Park are established residential pockets with detached housing stock, leafy streets, and reasonable commuter access via Metra Rock Island, but they trade at a steep discount to comparable North Side neighborhoods because of broader South Side perceptions. For income-focused investors, that discount is the entire opportunity.
Hometown (60456) and Chicago Heights (60411) extend the same pattern further out. Hometown is a tiny South Suburb of bungalows with entry prices around $214,000, while Chicago Heights is a larger working-class community with industrial employment and Metra Electric service. Both offer modest sale prices that magnify yield even when rents are correspondingly modest. The math is straightforward: when you buy a house for under $200,000 and rent it for over $1,500 a month, the yield engineering does itself.
Park Forest (60466) and Richton Park (60471) round out the top five with similar economics. These are long-term rental suburbs above all, with stable family-tenant demand from people priced out of Chicago proper or seeking better schools. Short-term rental performance in these locations is weaker than in tourist-facing North Side neighborhoods, which is why the long-term rental case dominates the investment thesis here.
The Yield-Price Trade-Off Is Inverse and Severe
An investor entering at about $270,000 in Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) versus about $403,000 at the city median faces a very different capital-risk profile. The cheaper suburbs yield more because rent does not fall as fast as price; a $500,000 lakefront condo does not rent for triple a $203,000 South Side house, even though the price ratio suggests it should. Premium suburbs charge a steep amenity and growth premium that comes out of yield.
Across Cook County, sale prices range from about $105,000 to $2,500,000, a 30x spread. Rents do not stretch anywhere near that wide. The result is the classic inverted yield curve: cheaper suburbs deliver double-digit gross yields while premium ZIPs settle in the 3-4% range despite commanding the highest absolute rents in the metro.
Premium Chicago Suburbs Trade Yield for Liquidity and Growth
For context, here is how some of Chicago's most in-demand suburbs compare. These are established neighborhoods where investors typically accept lower yields in exchange for capital growth, lower vacancy risk, and stronger resale liquidity.
High-demand suburbs for context. Same methodology as the yield ranking above.
These suburbs yield less on long-term rental because buyers pay heavily for school catchments, lakefront proximity, walkability, and Loop access, none of which translate proportionally into rent. Short-term rental can shift the picture for the most tourist-adjacent of these neighborhoods, where weekend visitors, business travelers, and convention attendees drive nightly rates well above what a long-term tenant would pay per night. Compare the short-term yield column against the long-term yield column to see where the strategy switch matters.
What the Ranking Doesn't Show
A high yield can mean depressed prices rather than strong rents. Several South Suburb communities in the top of the ranking have seen weak price appreciation over the past decade, which is partly why the yield math works so well. If your investment thesis depends on capital growth as well as income, those same suburbs may underperform premium areas on total return even though they win on yield.
The ranking also does not capture vacancy risk, tenant quality, or property tax variance. Cook County property taxes average around 2.0% of sale price annually, but the effective rate varies by municipality, and some high-yield South Suburbs carry above-average tax burdens that erode the headline gross yield. Median data also lags in fast-moving suburbs, so check current listings against the figures here before committing.
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Chicago's Yield Range Beats State and National Medians at the Top
The city-level Cook County median gross yield of 5.1% sits above the national median of 4.8% and just under the Illinois state median of 6.0%. But the top of the ranking blows past both: Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) at 11.5% delivers more than double the national average, while the lakefront premium suburbs trail well below it. This is the dispersion that makes suburb selection in Chicago consequential, the metro contains both some of the best-yielding ZIPs in the country and some of the worst, often only a short Metra ride apart. See data sources for how these numbers are constructed, or review the market score methodology.
Chicago licensing requirements apply to short-term rentals citywide, with additional rules in some Cook County municipalities, so verify local regulations before underwriting any short-term rental scenario. Permit required (about $130) in Chicago. Chicago requires all short-term rentals operators to register and maintain a license. No night cap, but must comply with building regulations, noise rules, and tax collection. Units in buildings with 5+ units need HOA/condo approval. Closing costs and transfer taxes apply on every purchase, check with your closing attorney for an exact estimate based on your target ZIP. Data reflects market conditions as of October 2026.
For a deeper cost-side view of the same metro, After All Costs, Cook County's Short-Term Rental Edge Narrows Sharply covers what the headline yield masks once costs are deducted.
Take Chicago further in the dashboard
Drill into individual suburbs, run your own price and rent assumptions, and compare property types side-by-side.
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This information is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial or legal advice. Regulations and market conditions change frequently. Verify current rules with local authorities before making investment decisions.
Methodology and Assumptions
Defaults used in the figures above. All inputs are adjustable in the dashboard.
How available nights are determined
Available nights default to 330 per year, reflecting an active operator with minimal blocked time. Where local regulations cap whole-home short-term lets (for example New York City 30-day minimum stays and San Francisco un-hosted 90-night caps), the cap is applied. In markets where short-term rental requires owner-occupancy or is otherwise prohibited for investment properties, available nights drop to zero.
How occupancy is measured
The percentage of available nights that get booked, drawn from market data. A property listed for 200 nights with 100 bookings shows 50% occupancy. Adjustable in the dashboard.
Long-term rental management default
Defaults to self-managed (zero management fee), reflecting the most common arrangement for US individual investors. The dashboard slider lets you add a property manager fee if you plan to outsource.
Short-term rental management default
Set to self-managed (zero management fee) by default, the most common arrangement for individual investors. Hiring a professional manager typically costs around 22% of gross revenue and reduces net yield proportionally. Toggle in the dashboard.
How property tax is calculated
Calculated as a percentage of property value, varying by state and county. California properties show lower effective rates due to Proposition 13's 1% cap on assessed value. Property tax sits with the owner; long-term tenants do not pay it.
Local regulations
Check state, county, and HOA rules before investing; these change frequently. The regulations summary in this article reflects the latest data we hold. Always verify the live position with the local authority.
Sampling and data sources
Short-term rental yield figures reflect properties currently listed on short-term rental platforms. In high-tourism markets, listings tend to concentrate in central postcodes, which can pull city-median yields above what residential areas of the same city would achieve. Yields for any specific suburb may differ significantly from the city-wide median.
For metric definitions and broader methodology, see the About page.