Skip to content
Cost & Benefits

Cost of living in Ottawa, Illinois

Simple answer

Typical rent is $920 a month.

Ottawa is a city in Illinois. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $71,413 a year.

Is Ottawa affordable?See benefits in Ottawa
People
18,447
Census average, 2020–2024
Typical rent
$920
Median gross rent, includes utilities
Typical pay
$71,413
Median household income, yearly
Typical home
$154,000
Median home value
2-bedroom fair rent
$1,052
La Salle County, IL

Ottawa, Illinois has about 18,447 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $154,000.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in LaSalle County is $1,052 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Ottawa. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

Illinois's prices sit at 100.0 when the U.S. average is 100. This place is not in a metro area with its own index, so this is the state number from BEA for 2024.

Illinois taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 9.0% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Ottawa'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 Ottawa'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, 405 have higher typical rent than Ottawa.

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 OttawaWhat 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.