Average Rent in Naperville vs Buying: First Year and Five Year Costs

The average rent in Naperville, IL runs from about $1,885 to $2,800 a month, depending on the source and its date.

The U.S. Census Bureau puts the median gross rent at $1,885 in its 2020 to 2024 survey, RentCafe reported an apartment average of $2,136 on August 31, 2026, and Zumper reported $2,800 as of September 29, 2026.

For comparison, buying at the $594,644 median sale price Redfin reported for the three months ending May 2026, with 20 percent down at a 7.03 percent rate, comes to about $4,687 to $6,322 a month for principal, interest, property tax and maintenance, before insurance.

I am Dan Firks, Founder and CEO of the Dan Firks Team at Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group here in Naperville. My Illinois real estate broker license is 475.141739.

I earn my living helping people buy and sell homes, so this guide sticks to dated, sourced figures and makes no recommendation about which path costs less. To talk through your own numbers, call or text me at 630.637.9009 or email Dan@Naperville.com.

In this guide

• What is the average rent in Naperville, IL?
• How much is rent in Naperville by number of bedrooms?
• Is it better to rent or buy in Naperville?
• What does the first year of renting vs buying cost in Naperville?
• What do five years of renting vs buying cost in Naperville?
• What does this rent vs buy illustration leave out?
• How can you run rent vs buy numbers for your own Naperville move?
• What fair housing protections apply when you rent in Naperville?
• How do you start a Naperville rental or home search?
• Frequently asked questions

What is the average rent in Naperville, IL?

The average rent in Naperville, IL is about $1,885 to $2,800 a month across five published sources, with the Census Bureau median at the low end and Zumper at the high end.

The spread comes from what each source measures. The Census figure is a survey estimate pooled over 2020 to 2024, not a single current month.

RentCafe covers apartments only, while Zillow’s figure spans all bedroom counts and property types. RentCafe and Zumper do not disclose the sample size behind their averages.

The sources also disagree on direction. RentCafe reported its average up 2.92 percent from a year earlier, while realtor.com reported its median down 5.09 percent year over year.

Zumper reported increases of 14 percent in one month and 17 percent over a year, a one-month jump large enough to treat with caution. Even RentCafe moved from $2,097 when we captured it on August 20, 2026 to $2,136 on its August 31, 2026 update.

You may also see HUD Fair Market Rents quoted for Naperville. Those cover the six-county Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metro area (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will), not Naperville alone.

In my experience, the quickest way through this disagreement is to note the source and date beside every rent figure you collect, then compare quotes for the unit size and home type you want.

How much is rent in Naperville by number of bedrooms?

Rent in Naperville runs from about $1,450 to $1,734 a month for a studio up to about $2,426 to $3,000 for three bedrooms, depending on the source.

The ranges draw on three sources: the Census Bureau’s table B25031 for 2020 to 2024, RentCafe’s August 31, 2026 update and Zumper’s September 29, 2026 figures. Zillow and realtor.com appear above as overall figures only.

The Census studio median sits above its one-bedroom median, a reminder that these are survey estimates with margins of error, not quotes for a particular unit.

Is it better to rent or buy in Naperville?

Neither renting nor buying is better as a rule in Naperville; the answer depends on your price range, down payment, loan rate, how long you plan to stay and your tax situation.

The next two sections set rent beside ownership costs as a dated illustration, not a recommendation. They show what each path costs in cash, not which one leaves you better off, which depends on future prices and rents.

Take your own numbers to your lender and a tax professional before you decide.

The illustration uses these assumptions:

• Purchase price: $594,644, the Redfin median sale price for the three months ending May 2026, as published in our Naperville cost of living guide. Redfin reported $619,663 for April through June 2026, which would raise every price-based line by about 4 percent.
• Down payment: 20 percent, or $118,929, chosen for the illustration only. That leaves a loan of $475,715.
• Rate: 7.03 percent on a 30-year fixed loan, the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey average for the week of September 24, 2026. Freddie Mac updates it weekly, and your rate depends on your loan. Principal and interest: about $3,175 a month.
• Property tax: Ownwell’s effective rates of 2.05 percent on the DuPage County side and 2.35 percent on the Will County side (updated April 13, 2026), applied to the price as our cost of living guide does: about $12,190 a year in DuPage and $13,974 in Will.
• Maintenance: State Farm gives a rule of thumb to set aside 1 percent to 4 percent of a home’s value for a home maintenance fund, and its own worked example budgets that range per year. At this price, that is about $5,946 to $23,786 a year.
• Closing costs: 2 percent to 5 percent of the purchase price, the range Freddie Mac tells home buyers to be prepared for (last reviewed February 26, 2026), or about $11,893 to $29,732. Freddie Mac notes that closing costs vary with location and price.
• City transfer tax: the City of Naperville real estate transfer tax of $1.50 per $500 of price, paid by the buyer, or about $1,785 at this price.
• Rent and everything else: the Census, RentCafe and Zillow rents, the price, the rate and tax rates all stay flat for five years, and neither side includes insurance, association dues or utilities.

In my experience, one of the inputs that matters most in a rent or buy comparison is how long you expect to stay, because closing costs and the eventual cost to sell are one-time amounts that a longer stay spreads over more months.

What does the first year of renting vs buying cost in Naperville?

In this illustration, the first year of renting costs about $22,620 to $31,200, while the first year of owning takes about $132,607 to $150,446 in cash at closing plus about $56,230 to $75,854 in mortgage payments, property tax and maintenance.

Figures in this guide are rounded to the dollar, and each table total adds the rounded lines shown, so some can differ by a few dollars from an unrounded calculation.

Cash at closing combines the $118,929 down payment, closing costs of about $11,893 to $29,732 and the City stamp of about $1,785.

By City ordinance, the buyer pays the City of Naperville $1.50 per $500 transfer tax. The statutes behind the Illinois and county transfer taxes do not name a payer, and by custom the seller pays them.

A closing cost estimate may already include the City stamp, so check your lender’s figures to avoid counting it twice.

An actual tax bill depends on the assessed value and taxing districts of a specific address, so run any home you are weighing through the Naperville property tax calculator.

Two owner lines are not costs in the way rent is: the $118,929 down payment and about $4,804 of first-year principal become equity in the home.

What do five years of renting vs buying cost in Naperville?

Over five years with everything held flat, rent adds up to about $113,100 to $156,000, and owning adds up to about $294,830 to $410,789 in mortgage payments, property tax, maintenance and closing costs, not counting the down payment.

After five years in this illustration, the owner has put $118,929 down and paid about $27,774 of principal, about $146,703 in all, and still owes about $447,942 on the loan.

What that equity is worth depends on the home’s value when you sell, the cost of selling and what the same cash could have earned elsewhere, none of which this illustration projects.

Flat rent is a simplification too: RentCafe and Zumper reported rising averages over the past year while realtor.com reported a decline.

What does this rent vs buy illustration leave out?

This illustration leaves out every cost and gain that depends on the future or on your own finances, including a change in home value, rent increases, the cost to sell, tax effects, investment returns, insurance and association dues.

• Home value. No change is assumed, and a different sale price changes what the equity is worth.
• Rent changes. Rent is held flat.
• Cost to sell. Selling the home later has its own costs, and this illustration does not count them.
• Opportunity cost. The down payment and closing cash could be saved or invested instead. No return rate is assumed.
• Income taxes. Mortgage interest and property tax can affect your taxes. Ask a tax professional.
• Insurance, dues and utilities. These are left out on both sides. Our condo and townhome buyers guide covers association dues and documents.
• Loan type and down payment. A smaller down payment changes every owner line, and your lender can tell you whether it would add mortgage insurance.

How can you run rent vs buy numbers for your own Naperville move?

You can run your own numbers by replacing each assumption here with a real quote: a rent for the home you want, a lender estimate and a tax figure for a specific address.

1. Get a written rent quote for the unit size and home type you want, and ask which utilities and fees it includes.
2. Ask your lender for a Loan Estimate for your price range, down payment and loan type.
3. Enter the price, down payment and rate in the Naperville mortgage calculator.
4. Estimate property tax for a specific address with the property tax calculator.
5. Add insurance quotes for both paths, plus any association dues for a condo or townhome.
6. Pick a maintenance set-aside, using the State Farm range of 1 percent to 4 percent as a starting point.
7. Decide how many years you expect to stay, then review the totals with a tax professional.

In my experience, the document that settles the most questions is a written Loan Estimate, because it replaces the survey rate and closing cost range in this guide with figures for your loan.

If you are buying for the first time, our first time home buyer programs guide covers state programs and their limits. For the rest of a household budget, see the cost of living guide.

What fair housing protections apply when you rent in Naperville?

Two protections are worth knowing when you rent in Naperville: Illinois law covers source of income, and federal fair housing law covers reasonable accommodations, which can involve an assistance animal.

Illinois HB 2775 added source of income to the Illinois Human Rights Act, effective January 1, 2023. The Act defines it as “the lawful manner by which an individual supports himself or herself and his or her dependents” (775 ILCS 5/1-103(O-5)).

Whether the Act covers a particular rental, including whether any exemption applies, is a question for the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

Under the federal Fair Housing Act, refusing a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices or services that a person with a disability may need to use and enjoy a dwelling is discrimination (42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 CFR 100.204).

HUD withdrew its 2020 notice on assistance animal requests effective September 17, 2025, so ask HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity or the Illinois Department of Human Rights about current guidance.

If you own a rental home and plan to sell it with a tenant in place, see our guide to selling a house with tenants in Illinois.

How do you start a Naperville rental or home search?

Start on the Naperville.com listing search, which includes a Residential Lease property type for rentals alongside homes for sale.

Set the location to Naperville and check Residential Lease under property type to see rentals, then run the same search with a for-sale property type to compare homes of the same size.

If you are weighing a newer rental, our guide to new apartment buildings in Naperville covers new and planned buildings.

I am Dan Firks, a Realtor, broker, and the Founder and CEO of the Dan Firks Team at Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group in Naperville. Call or text me at 630.637.9009 or email Dan@Naperville.com.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. The comparison is an illustration, not a recommendation, and every figure can change.

Average rent in Naperville vs buying: frequently asked questions

What is the average rent in Naperville IL?

Published figures run from about $1,885 to $2,800 a month. The Census Bureau median gross rent is $1,885 for 2020 to 2024, RentCafe reported $2,136 on August 31, 2026 and Zumper reported $2,800 as of September 29, 2026.

Why do Naperville rent figures differ from one website to another?

Each source measures something different. The Census figure is a survey estimate pooled over 2020 to 2024, RentCafe covers apartments only, and Zillow covers all property types. Figures also change month to month, so check the date on each one.

How does the first year of buying compare with renting in Naperville?

In this illustration, a $594,644 purchase with 20 percent down at 7.03 percent takes about $132,607 to $150,446 at closing, then about $56,230 to $75,854 in first year payments, property tax and maintenance. Twelve months of rent at $1,885 to $2,600 comes to $22,620 to $31,200.

How do five years of renting compare with buying in Naperville?

With everything held flat, 60 months of rent at $1,885 to $2,600 comes to $113,100 to $156,000. Owning comes to about $294,830 to $410,789 in mortgage payments, property tax, maintenance and closing costs, not counting the $118,929 down payment, with about $447,942 still owed on the loan.

Does the rent vs buy illustration include a change in home value?

No. It holds prices, rents, the rate and tax rates flat and does not project home value, rent increases, tax effects, investment returns or the cost to sell.

Can I search for Naperville rentals on Naperville.com?

Yes. The Naperville.com listing search includes a Residential Lease property type. Set the location to Naperville, check Residential Lease and open each listing for its details.