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Cost & Benefits

Cost of living in Cary, Illinois

Cary, Illinois has about 17,923 people. Typical rent is $1,428 a month, including utilities, and a typical household earns $113,026 a year. Both figures are Census 2020–2024 medians, not a listing or your pay. This site does not approve or deny benefits. A missing figure stays blank. We do not guess it.

Ranked #133 in Illinois on the 2026 Most Affordable Towns Index.

Simple answer

Typical rent is $1,428 a month.

Cary is a village in Illinois. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $113,026 a year.

Is Cary affordable?See benefits in Cary
People
17,923
Census average, 2020–2024
Typical rent
$1,428
Median gross rent, includes utilities
Typical pay
$113,026
Median household income, yearly
Typical home
$309,800
Median home value
2-bedroom fair rent
$2,011
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area
Gas
$4.237
Midwest (PADD 2), week of October 12, 2026

Cary, Illinois has about 17,923 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $309,800.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in McHenry County is $2,011 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Cary. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

In the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, prices sit at 103.6 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.

Illinois taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 9.0% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Cary's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical Illinois home paid 19.22¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Cary's bill.

EIA does not publish a Illinois gasoline price. For the week of October 12, 2026, the Midwest (PADD 2) all-grades price was $4.237 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,033.76 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Illinois shares this price.

Among 648 places we list in Illinois with a rent figure, 163 have higher typical rent than Cary.

Nearby places

EBT nearby

USDA has a live map of stores that take SNAP. We did not copy that store list here. The downloadable file is a history file for 2005 through 2025, so the live map is the one to use.

Find SNAP stores near CaryWhat EBT can buy in Illinois

Locator page updated 2026-09-11. Last checked 2026-10-16.

Food stamps (SNAP) tools in Illinois

Bigger places in Illinois

Census 2020-2024. HUD rents for October 2026–September 2027. BEA prices for 2024. Taxes as of January 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16. 15,000 places are in this guide.