United States · Illinois

Illinois mortgage calculator

Estimate your monthly payment in Illinois — principal & interest, property tax, and insurance — using the live national average rate and Illinois's estimated ~2.23% effective property tax rate. Adjust any figure below.

Data researched & maintained by Robinjit Singh · Last verified June 2026

Affording a home in Illinois

Stretched

Income gap

+$4,000

$4,000 more yearly income than the typical household here earns is what a median home asks — the reason many buyers combine two incomes, buy smaller, or put more down.

Median home price

$278,000

The statewide middle — half of homes cost less, half more.

Income needed

$80,000

To qualify at the standard 28% rule with 20% down.

Typical household income

$76,000

What the median household here actually earns.

A median Illinois home costs $278k and needs $4k more annual income than the typical household earns.

Median is a statewide figure — expensive cities and more affordable rural areas vary widely.

Source: Zillow ZHVI · U.S. Census ACS · Splitero · Verified 2026-06-30

A single median income can qualify in Illinois — here's what that looks like

The typical Illinois household earns $76,000/year. To buy a median-priced home here, lenders generally want to see $80,000/year — which a single median income can cover. Illinois is one of the more accessible markets in the country right now.

The roles and income paths that commonly reach it in Illinois are listed below — some single high-earning roles, some two incomes combined.

Roles and income paths that commonly meet the income in Illinois

Nurse
Teacher
Accountant
Government worker

Pay varies widely by employer, experience, and city — these are paths that often (not always) reach the income needed, not a guarantee for any individual. Entries like “+ partner income” mean two incomes combined.

First-time buyer programs available in Illinois

IHDA Access Forgivable Program
SmartBuy 3.0 student debt assistance

Programs and their terms change — verify current availability and eligibility with the official state housing agency before relying on any of these.

What makes Illinois legally different for homebuyers

Illinois has one of the longer judicial foreclosure processes in the country and provides a 7-month post-sale redemption period. Illinois also has some of the highest property tax rates in the country — average effective rate of approximately 2.08% — which significantly impacts the true monthly cost of homeownership.

If you buy here

Before buying anywhere in Illinois, check the specific property tax rate for that PIN — rates vary enormously by municipality and can range from 1.5% to 3%+ of home value annually. This cost often shocks buyers from other states.

Foreclosure: judicial, ~12 mo
Post-sale redemption: 7 months (or 3 months if abandoned)
Anti-deficiency protection: No

General overview only — laws change and individual situations vary. Consult a real estate attorney for advice specific to your purchase. (Verified 2026-06-30.)

A clean, printable one-page summary — free, no account needed.

Loan details

Understanding your numbers before you sign.

A mortgage is likely the largest financial commitment of your life. The Mortgage Ledger was built so you can explore what that commitment actually looks like — payment by payment, line by line — before you're sitting across from a lender.

Rates sourced from FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Estimates only — not a loan offer.

Enter loan details to see your payment.

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Mortgage rate trend

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Down-payment scenarios for a median home in Illinois

How much you put down changes the loan, the monthly payment, and the income a lender wants to see. Below is a median-priced $278,000 home in Illinoisat a 6.65% benchmark rate over 30 years — the same assumptions behind the income figures above.

Down payment	Loan	Monthly P&I	Income to qualify	Mortgage insurance
5% · $13,900	$264,100	$1,695/mo	≈ $99,019	PMI ~$176/mo
10% · $27,800	$250,200	$1,606/mo	≈ $94,797	PMI ~$167/mo
20% · $55,600	$222,400	$1,428/mo	$80,000	None

At 20% down the income to qualify is the $80,000 shown above; putting less down means a bigger loan, a higher payment, and PMI (estimated at ~0.8% of the loan per year until you reach 20% equity — the actual rate varies by credit).

What a median home actually costs each month (20% down)

$1,428principal & interest + $517 property tax + $163 insurance = $2,107/mo. Property tax and insurance are added on top of the mortgage, never blended into the rate. Insurance is Illinois's average annual premium ($1,950/yr, at a benchmark $300k dwelling) — your quote will vary.

The bigger picture: a median home in Illinois costs about 3.7×the typical household's yearly income — below the national ratio of about 4.8×.

Go deeper: run your own numbers in the affordability calculator, download the full dataset or read the methodology. Compare with neighbouring Wisconsin and Indiana.

How much do you need to earn to buy a home in Illinois?

In Illinois, you need to earn about $80,000 a year to afford a median-priced home of $278,000 — $4,000 more than the $76,000 a typical household earns. A single median income can still stretch to it, depending on your debts and down payment.

How much do you need to earn to buy a house in Illinois?

To afford a median-priced home in Illinois (about $278,000), a buyer needs roughly $80,000 per year, compared with the $76,000 a median Illinois household earns. Source: The Mortgage Ledger, 2026.

What is the average home price in Illinois?

The median home price in Illinois is about $278,000 as of June 2026, per The Mortgage Ledger.

What are property taxes in Illinois?

Illinois has an effective property tax rate of about 2.23%, or roughly $6,199 per year on a median-priced home. Source: The Mortgage Ledger, 2026.

Do you need two incomes to buy a home in Illinois?

Not necessarily — a single median household income of $76,000 is close to the $80,000 needed for a median-priced home, though it depends on your debts and down payment.

Source: The Mortgage Ledger · Figures are statewide medians and benchmark estimates · Data verified June 2026.