The Midwest may be known for its mostly moderate cost of living, but there are pockets of wealthy cities scattered throughout this region where necessities like groceries and transportation don’t come cheap. Key findings from a new GOBankingRates study indicate residents in Illinois’ 20 most expensive cities pay more than $5,000 monthly on necessities alone.
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GOBankingRates found Illinois’ most expensive places to live in by isolating the metros with the highest 2025 home values and total populations over 2,500. Data for each eligible city includes their 2025 average home value, monthly mortgage payments and monthly and annual costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare and transportation. The mortgage payments were combined with grocery, utility, healthcare and transportation costs to determine the monthly and annual necessity costs of each city.
Keep reading for the 20 most expensive places to live in Illinois, ranked by highest to lowest annual necessity costs. And don’t forget to check out the most expensive place to buy a home in every Midwestern state.
1. Kenilworth
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $138,632
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $11,553
- 2025 average home value: $1,896,355
- Monthly mortgage payment: $9,390
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2. Winnetka
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $130,246
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $10,854
- 2025 average home value: $1,759,880
- Monthly mortgage payment: $8,715
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3. Glencoe
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $113,908
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $9,492
- 2025 average home value: $1,488,738
- Monthly mortgage payment: $7,372
4. Hinsdale
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $98,119
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $8,177
- 2025 average home value: $1,228,133
- Monthly mortgage payment: $6,081
5. Lake Forest
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $92,611
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $7,718
- 2025 average home value: $1,172,231
- Monthly mortgage payment: $5,805
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6. South Barrington
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $88,808
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $7,401
- 2025 average home value: $1,081,467
- Monthly mortgage payment: $5,355
7. Oak Brook
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $85,087
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $7,091
- 2025 average home value: $1,014,521
- Monthly mortgage payment: $5,024
8. Barrington Hills
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $84,483
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $7,040
- 2025 average home value: $985,071
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,878
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9. Wilmette
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $82,448
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $6,871
- 2025 average home value: $968,347
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,795
10. Northfield
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $80,247
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $6,687
- 2025 average home value: $932,314
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,617
11. Burr Ridge
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $78,196
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $6,516
- 2025 average home value: $902,643
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,470
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12. Riverwoods
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $77,878
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $6,490
- 2025 average home value: $929,512
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,603
13. Long Grove
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $76,726
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $6,394
- 2025 average home value: $904,299
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,478
14. River Forest
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $73,761
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $6,147
- 2025 average home value: $822,837
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,075
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15. Western Springs
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $73,078
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $6,090
- 2025 average home value: $816,376
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,043
16. Kildeer
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $72,142
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $6,012
- 2025 average home value: $824,648
- Monthly mortgage payment: $4,083
17. Inverness
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $71,351
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $5,946
- 2025 average home value: $782,556
- Monthly mortgage payment: $3,875
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18. North Barrington
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $71,003
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $5,917
- 2025 average home value: $801,283
- Monthly mortgage payment: $3,968
19. Highland Park
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $69,882
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $5,823
- 2025 average home value: $792,777
- Monthly mortgage payment: $3,926
20. Northbrook
- Costs of just necessities (annually): $69,744
- Costs of just necessities (monthly): $5,812
- 2025 average home value: $760,954
- Monthly mortgage payment: $3,768
Explore more original studies and surveys in the GOBankingRates original research center.
Editor’s note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed.
Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates looked at the 30 cities in Illinois with the highest 2025 home values, as sourced from Zillow’s August 2025 data, and with total populations above 2,500, as sourced from the 2023 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. With these Illinois’ cities isolated, GOBankingRates found (1) 2025 average home value; (2) monthly and annual mortgage payments assuming 20% down, 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 6.30% (via Freddie Mac) and assuming no HOA fees, no PMI and no property tax; (3) grocery costs; (4) utilities costs; (5) healthcare costs; and (6) transportation costs. Factors (3) thru (6) were calculated by finding national averages for each category as sourced from the 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and factoring in the individual cities’ cost-of-living index by category as sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces. GOBankingRates then combined factors (2) through (6) to find each city’s (7) monthly and annual cost of necessities. Factor (7) was the only factor in determining rankings. All data was collected on Oct. 13, 2025.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 20 Most Expensive Places To Live in Illinois
