What is the median rent in Lake Forest, IL?

Name: Median rent in Lake Forest, IL, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Lake Forest, IL is $1,815 (±$180) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 677 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Lake Forest, the median gross rent went from $1,831 in 2015–2019 to $1,815 in 2020–2024 (−0.9%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $1,815 (±$180)
Rented homes: 677 (±174)
$2,000 or more: 38.7%
Since 2015–2019: −0.9%

How much rent costs in Lake Forest

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Lake Forest	Lake County	Illinois	United States
Less than $500	0.0% (±5.4 points)	5.1%	7.0%	6.3%
$500 to $999	10.2% (±10.0 points)	14.9%	23.5%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	20.5% (±10.2 points)	31.3%	32.6%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	30.6% (±13.7 points)	26.2%	18.7%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	9.6% (±7.1 points)	12.4%	9.6%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	5.6% (±5.5 points)	4.6%	4.1%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	23.5% (±9.0 points)	5.3%	4.4%	6.8%

The most common range is $1,500 to $1,999, paid by 30.6% of renting households.

38.7% of rented homes in Lake Forest cost $2,000 or more a month.

Lake Forest against Lake County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Lake Forest	Lake County	Illinois	United States
Median gross rent	$1,815 (±$180)	$1,477 (±$29)	$1,274 (±$5)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	677 (±174)	62,163 (±1,559)	1,587,238 (±10,609)	42,849,984

In Lake Forest, median gross rent is higher than in Lake County ($1,477).

It is also higher than in Illinois ($1,274).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

In Lake County, Lake Forest ranks 22 of 64 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 90 of 2,063.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in Lake Forest has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$1,831 (±$372)	$1,815 (±$180)	−0.9%	No measurable change after inflation
Households that rent	13.9% (±2.1 points)	11.2% (±2.6 points)	−2.7 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	10.6% (±6.5 points)	5.4% (±6.7 points)	−5.2 percentage points	Not a measurable change

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Lake Forest

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Lake Forest
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Lake Forest	—	$1,815 (±$180)	—
West Deerfield Township	2.8 mi	$2,284 (±$194)	Higher
Highwood	3.0 mi	$1,900 (±$209)	Not measurably different
Shields Township	3.2 mi	$1,680 (±$89)	Not measurably different
Lake Bluff	3.3 mi	$2,063 (±$800)	Not measurably different
Knollwood	3.6 mi	$1,659 (±$333)	Not measurably different
Lincolnshire	4.1 mi	$2,858 (±$463)	Higher
Moraine Township	4.3 mi	$1,910 (±$110)	Not measurably different
Highland Park	4.4 mi	$1,925 (±$124)	Not measurably different

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: West Deerfield Township, IL ($2,284), Lincolnshire, IL ($2,858).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across Lake County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
16	Moraine Township	$1,910 (±$110)
17	Lake Zurich	$1,909 (±$167)
18	Vernon Hills	$1,903 (±$125)
19	Highwood	$1,900 (±$209)
20	Riverwoods	$1,842 (±$329)
21	Grandwood Park	$1,836 (±$275)
22	Lake Forest	$1,815 (±$180)
23	Lindenhurst	$1,768 (±$113)
24	Venetian Village	$1,711 (±$243)
25	Round Lake	$1,710 (±$311)
26	Gages Lake	$1,693 (±$151)
27	Libertyville Township	$1,690 (±$80)
28	Old Mill Creek	$1,688 (±$188)

Showing 13 of 64 places in Lake County, ranked from highest to lowest.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Lake Forest

What is the average rent in Lake Forest, IL?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Lake Forest is $1,815 (±$180) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in Lake Forest?

In Lake Forest, the median gross rent went from $1,831 in 2015–2019 to $1,815 in 2020–2024 (−0.9%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

How many rentals in Lake Forest cost more than $2,000 a month?

38.7% of rented homes in Lake Forest have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 0.0% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Lake Forest higher than in Lake County?

In Lake Forest, median gross rent is higher than in Lake County ($1,477).

It is also higher than in Illinois ($1,274).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Lake Forest city, Illinois (place:41105, in state:17).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.