How Chicago Rents Have Changed Between the 1970s and Today: A Look at 7 Buildings
I also compared Chicagoans’ income levels in relation to the rental costs in the 1970s versus today.
Everyone complains about how expensive rent is nowadays — and they’re right to do so. It’s not just rent; it seems like everything around us keeps getting more and more expensive each year, if not each month. We blink, and suddenly, a bunch of necessities at the grocery store are much more expensive. How? Why? I blame monopolies, but that deserves a speech of its own.
Housing costs are high. But have you ever wondered how much higher they are compared to the “good old days”? Older people often say things like:
“Back in my day, everything was cheaper. When I was young, you could rent a place for $100.”
Was it? Could you? I decided to dive into the newspaper archives of a major American city and compare the rents in the exact same homes between the 1970s and 2024. I chose Chicago for this mission. Below are newspaper clippings from a prominent Chicago newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, dated between 1970 and 1979, for seven specific buildings.
They are followed by the vacancies posted online today, in 2024, for the exact same properties. You can…
