American Dream Foundation

← All places

West · DuPage County

Elmhurst

Metra UP-W from Elmhurst to Ogilvie Transportation Center, 27 to 40 minutes on a weekday. Most of the town is served by Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 and Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 (York Community High School).

Key figures

Typical home, August 2026

$642,280

+42% since January 2020 ($450,856)

Payment on it at 7%

$3,418

a month, 20% down ($128,456), 30 years

Median household income

$149,644

±$10,307, 2020–2024

Payment as a share of that income

27.4%

17.2% in January 2020

Householders under 35 who own

50%

±10 points, 2020–2024

Monthly gap, same share of pay as 2020

$1,270

$190,826 of assistance closes it

Home values since 2000, against pay

$0k$250k$500k$750k2000200420082012201620202024Jan 2020$642,280typical home$595,548if it grew with pay

Zillow Home Value Index, monthly. Earnings: BLS median usual weekly earnings, full-time workers 16+, annual averages; Q2 2026 for this year. Over a long span the comparison depends on the starting year, which is why the site measures what the monthly payment takes from pay, and compares it with January 2020.

The gap, job by job

By the site's method the monthly gap in Elmhurst is the same for every job whose pay grew at the national pace: it is the part of the payment rise that pay growth did not cover. What differs from job to job is how much of each paycheck the payment now takes.

Payment on the typical home in Elmhurst as a share of pay
Job (Chicago metro median pay)Jan 2020TodayChange
Accountant$82,360 a year31.3%49.8%+18.5 pts
Carpenter$80,440 a year32.1%51.0%+18.9 pts
Electrician$102,350 a year25.2%40.1%+14.9 pts
Elementary school teacher$78,390 a year32.9%52.3%+19.4 pts
Firefighter$82,820 a year31.1%49.5%+18.4 pts
High school teacher$98,970 a year26.1%41.4%+15.4 pts
Paramedic$77,670 a year33.2%52.8%+19.6 pts
Physical therapist$105,720 a year24.4%38.8%+14.4 pts
Plumber$103,380 a year24.9%39.7%+14.7 pts
Police officer$107,810 a year23.9%38.1%+14.1 pts
Registered nurse$100,490 a year25.7%40.8%+15.2 pts
Social worker$64,790 a year39.8%63.3%+23.5 pts

One earner. Two-earner households and other rates: use the explorer below.

Homes in Elmhurst

Payments for Registered nurse ($100,490 a year), 20% down at 7.03%.

Homes in Elmhurst with filters

Equal Housing Opportunity. The foundation supports the Fair Housing Act: we do not discriminate in any program on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, familial status or national origin, or any class protected by Illinois law. Listing information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed; confirm details with the listing brokerage. Homes marked “Illustrative example” are not for sale: they show what assistance would do at typical prices in each town.

Try a household

In Elmhurst, the payment on the typical home takes 40.8% of the pay of a registered nurse today, up from 25.7% in January 2020.

Typical home (2026-08)
$642,280
Same home, January 2020
$450,856
Payment today at 7.00%
$3,418
Payment at the 2020 share of pay
$2,149
Monthly gap
$1,270
Assistance that closes it
$190,826

Principal and interest, 20% down, 30-year fixed. Typical home: Zillow Home Value Index. Pay: BLS median wage, Chicago metro, May 2025; January 2020 pay is estimated with the national growth in median full-time earnings (+30.7%). Latest weekly average rate 7.03% (2026-09-24). More on Elmhurst

Sources

  • Typical home value: Zillow Home Value Index, Elmhurst, August 2026 (and January 2020, January 2000).
  • Median household income and ownership by age: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, place 1723620.
  • Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro, annual median.
  • Trains: Metra weekday inbound timetable, scheduled minutes, retrieved September 28, 2026.
  • Schools: district boundaries from Census TIGER and district websites. Unit district (PK-12) covering about 92% of the city's area. Under 1% of the city is in Cook County.