Cost of living in Lake Forest, Illinois
Simple answer
Typical rent is $1,815 a month.
Lake Forest is a city in Illinois. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $235,081 a year.
- People
- 19,416
- Census average, 2020–2024
- Typical rent
- $1,815
- Median gross rent, includes utilities
- Typical pay
- $235,081
- Median household income, yearly
- Typical home
- $938,300
- Median home value
- 2-bedroom fair rent
- $2,011
- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area
Lake Forest, Illinois has about 19,416 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.
A typical home is worth about $938,300.
HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Lake County is $2,011 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Lake Forest. 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 Lake Forest'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 Lake Forest's bill.
EIA did not publish a 2025 all-grades gas price for Illinois in the table we use.
Among 648 places we list in Illinois with a rent figure, 63 have higher typical rent than Lake Forest.
Nearby places
- Highwood
Typical rent $1,900
Compare with Lake Forest - BannockburnCompare with Lake Forest
- Lake Bluff
Typical rent $2,063
Compare with Lake Forest - Knollwood
Typical rent $1,659
Compare with Lake Forest - Lincolnshire
Typical rent $2,858
Compare with Lake Forest - Highland Park
Typical rent $1,925
Compare with Lake Forest - Riverwoods
Typical rent $1,842
- Deerfield
Typical rent $2,482
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.
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.