Yields across 167 suburbs in Cook County (Cook County) range from 11.4% in Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) down to under 4% in premium North Shore and downtown postcodes. That spread is wider than the gap between short-term rental and long-term rental at the county level, so where you buy matters more than how you let the property out. Cook County's south and southwest suburbs dominate the top of the yield ranking, and cheaper entry prices, not stronger rents, do most of the work. This ranking shows the full picture and explains the pattern.
Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) Tops the Ranking at 11.4%
Gross yields = annual income / sale price. Based on 3-bed house medians. The dashboard shows every property type and bedroom count.
Affordability, Not Rent Strength, Powers the Top Five
Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) ranks first because the entry price of about $268,000 sits well below the Cook County median 3-bed house of about $378,000, while monthly rent of about $2,500 holds up close to the county average of about $1,800. That mismatch is the recurring story across the top of the ranking. Hometown (60456) and Chicago Heights (60411) follow the same logic: prices in the $150,000 to $200,000 band paired with rents in the $1,400 to $1,800 band produce gross yields above 11%, more than double what the prestige northern suburbs deliver.
Geographically, the leaders cluster in Cook County's south and southwest. These are established residential markets with stable rental demand from local employment, families priced out of pricier inner-Chicago neighborhoods, and reverse commuters working in the south suburbs. Rental demand here does not rise and fall with downtown office cycles, so the rent floor is sturdier than the yield numbers might suggest.
On a short-term rental basis, Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) prints a gross yield of 11.8%, helped by Cook County's relatively permissive framework outside Evanston. The catch is that tourist demand outside the central Loop and the North Side is thin, so realised short-term occupancy in these specific suburbs is unlikely to match the county-wide average of 45%. The long-term rental ranking is the more reliable signal for the top five. Park Forest (60466) and Richton Park (60471) are best understood as long-term rental markets where the headline short-term yield is theoretical rather than achievable.
Cheap Entry Prices, Not Strong Rents, Drive These Yields
The pattern across the top five is straightforward: cheaper suburbs yield more because rent does not fall as fast as price. An investor entering at about $268,000 in Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) faces a very different capital-risk profile than one entering at the Cook County median of about $378,000, but the rental income gap between the two is far smaller than the price gap. That disconnect is what produces the high yield, and it is also what creates the trade-off.
The flip side is capital growth. Cook County's premium northern and lakefront suburbs price in scarcity, top-rated school districts, and proximity to downtown employment, none of which scales linearly with rent. Investors who buy in those areas accept lower running yield in exchange for stronger long-run price appreciation and easier liquidity when it is time to sell. The top five suburbs above offer income now; the premium suburbs offer total return over a longer holding period.
How Cook County's Premium Suburbs Compare
For context, here is how some of Cook County's most in-demand suburbs compare on the same methodology. These are established markets where investors typically accept lower yields in exchange for capital growth, deeper tenant pools, and faster resale.
High-demand suburbs for context. Same methodology as the yield ranking above.
The premium table shows why these suburbs trade at premium prices despite weaker income returns: rent rises with price, but not in proportion. Short-term rental does change the picture for a handful of these suburbs where Airbnb demand is genuine (lakefront, near major hospitals, near the airports), but Cook County's permit moratorium and per-ward license cap mean the regulatory ceiling is real and worth verifying parcel by parcel.
Why an 11% Yield Is Not the Whole Story
Yield equals annual rent divided by price, so a high yield can mean depressed prices rather than strong rents. Several of Cook County's south-side postcodes have carried that signal for years: nominal price growth has lagged the North Shore, which lifts gross yield arithmetically but means total return depends almost entirely on rental income rather than capital appreciation. An investor underwriting these suburbs needs to be honest about that, because financing exit and refinancing both depend on appraised value rising over time.
Three other things the ranking does not capture. Vacancy risk varies suburb by suburb; some southern Cook County postcodes have thinner rental pools than the county average and longer days-on-market between tenants. Cook County's effective property tax rate of roughly 2.0% eats around $7,500 a year on the county-median home and considerably more in the higher-priced suburbs, so the after-tax picture compresses the headline yield gap. Finally, medians lag in fast-moving sub-markets, which means the yield ranking should be a starting filter, not a final answer.
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Cook County's Top Suburbs Beat the National Median
At 11.4%, Beverly/Morgan Park (60643) sits well above the Illinois median yield of 6.6% and the US median of 5.3%. The county-wide median yield of 5.4% runs 0.1pp above the national figure and 1.2pp below the Illinois figure, because downstate Illinois carries lower entry prices that pull the state-wide yield up. The takeaway is that Cook County's high-yield suburbs are nationally competitive on income, even if the county median itself is not. For investors comparing Chicago against alternative US metros, the yield case has to be made at the suburb level, not the metro level. Within the region, the same dynamic plays out elsewhere; Illinois has other affordability-led pockets worth comparing before committing capital. The methodology behind these numbers is documented in our data sources and market score methodology.
Suburb selection inside Cook County therefore changes gross yield by more than 7 percentage points, larger than the gap between long-term and short-term rental at the county level. For an investor focused on cash income today rather than 10-year capital growth, that is the dominant decision. For an investor focused on resale value and lower vacancy risk, the premium suburbs in the second table are the better fit, even at lower running yield. The dashboard lets you filter by property type, bedroom count, and bedroom-specific rent so the choice can be made on your own assumptions.
Data reflects market conditions as of May 2026.
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This information is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial or legal advice. Regulations and market conditions change frequently. Verify current rules with local authorities before making investment decisions.
Methodology and Assumptions
Defaults used in the figures above. All inputs are adjustable in the dashboard.
How available nights are determined
Available nights default to 330 per year, reflecting an active operator with minimal blocked time. Where local regulations cap whole-home short-term lets (for example London at 90 nights, New South Wales at 180), the cap is applied. In markets where short-term rental requires owner-occupancy or is otherwise prohibited for investment properties, available nights drop to zero.
How occupancy is measured
The percentage of available nights that get booked, drawn from market data. A property listed for 200 nights with 100 bookings shows 50% occupancy. Adjustable in the dashboard.
Long-term rental management default
Defaults to self-managed (zero management fee), reflecting the most common arrangement for US individual investors. The dashboard slider lets you add a property manager fee if you plan to outsource.
Short-term rental management default
Set to self-managed (zero management fee) by default, the most common arrangement for individual investors. Hiring a professional manager typically costs around 22% of gross revenue and reduces net yield proportionally. Toggle in the dashboard.
How property tax is calculated
Calculated as a percentage of property value, varying by state and county. California properties show lower effective rates due to Proposition 13's 1% cap on assessed value. Property tax sits with the owner; long-term tenants do not pay it.
Local regulations
Check state, council, and HOA rules before investing; these change frequently. The regulations summary in this article reflects the latest data we hold. Always verify the live position with the local authority.
Sampling and data sources
Short-term rental yield figures reflect properties currently listed on short-term rental platforms. In high-tourism markets, listings tend to concentrate in central postcodes, which can pull city-median yields above what residential areas of the same city would achieve. Yields for any specific suburb may differ significantly from the city-wide median.
For metric definitions and broader methodology, see the About page.