Data / Rankings / Housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)

East St. Louis, IL had the highest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) of 224 cities in 2021, at 28.8%. Oswego, IL had the lowest, at 0.7%. The median was 5.7% and the figure for Illinois was 8.9%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest28.8East St. Louis, IL
Lowest0.7Oswego, IL
Median5.7224 cities
Illinois8.9History

Top 40 cities, 2021

East St. Louis, IL: 28.8 %East St. Louis, IL28.8Riverdale, IL: 25.4 %Riverdale, IL25.4Harvey, IL: 24.7 %Harvey, IL24.7Macomb, IL: 21 %Macomb, IL21Carbondale, IL: 20.1 %Carbondale, IL20.1Danville, IL: 18.1 %Danville, IL18.1Kankakee, IL: 17 %Kankakee, IL17Mount Vernon, IL: 15.9 %Mount Vernon, IL15.9Charleston, IL: 15.6 %Charleston, IL15.6Calumet City, IL: 15 %Calumet City, IL15Rantoul, IL: 14.8 %Rantoul, IL14.8Decatur, IL: 14.7 %Decatur, IL14.7Kewanee, IL: 14.1 %Kewanee, IL14.1Belleville, IL: 13.8 %Belleville, IL13.8Alton, IL: 13.6 %Alton, IL13.6Chicago Heights, IL: 13.5 %Chicago Heights, IL13.5Hazel Crest, IL: 13.5 %Hazel Crest, IL13.5Galesburg, IL: 13.4 %Galesburg, IL13.4Fairview Heights, IL: 13.3 %Fairview Heights, IL13.3Granite City, IL: 12.9 %Granite City, IL12.9Maywood, IL: 12.8 %Maywood, IL12.8Urbana, IL: 12.8 %Urbana, IL12.8Markham, IL: 12.7 %Markham, IL12.7Champaign, IL: 12.6 %Champaign, IL12.6Peoria, IL: 12.5 %Peoria, IL12.5Centralia, IL: 12.5 %Centralia, IL12.5Ottawa, IL: 12.2 %Ottawa, IL12.2Dolton, IL: 12.1 %Dolton, IL12.1Jacksonville, IL: 12 %Jacksonville, IL12Herrin, IL: 11.7 %Herrin, IL11.7Taylorville, IL: 11.5 %Taylorville, IL11.5Wood River, IL: 11.5 %Wood River, IL11.5North Chicago, IL: 11.3 %North Chicago, IL11.3Fox Lake, IL: 11.2 %Fox Lake, IL11.2Rock Island, IL: 11.2 %Rock Island, IL11.2Chicago, IL: 11.2 %Chicago, IL11.2Crestwood, IL: 10.7 %Crestwood, IL10.7Mahomet, IL: 10.5 %Mahomet, IL10.5Sterling, IL: 10.4 %Sterling, IL10.4Normal, IL: 10.4 %Normal, IL10.4East St. Louis, IL: 28.8 %East St. Louis, IL28.8Riverdale, IL: 25.4 %Riverdale, IL25.4Harvey, IL: 24.7 %Harvey, IL24.7Macomb, IL: 21 %Macomb, IL21Carbondale, IL: 20.1 %Carbondale, IL20.1Danville, IL: 18.1 %Danville, IL18.1Kankakee, IL: 17 %Kankakee, IL17Mount Vernon, IL: 15.9 %Mount Vernon, IL15.9Charleston, IL: 15.6 %Charleston, IL15.6Calumet City, IL: 15 %Calumet City, IL15Rantoul, IL: 14.8 %Rantoul, IL14.8Decatur, IL: 14.7 %Decatur, IL14.7Kewanee, IL: 14.1 %Kewanee, IL14.1Belleville, IL: 13.8 %Belleville, IL13.8Alton, IL: 13.6 %Alton, IL13.6Chicago Heights, IL: 13.5 %Chicago Heights, IL13.5Hazel Crest, IL: 13.5 %Hazel Crest, IL13.5Galesburg, IL: 13.4 %Galesburg, IL13.4Fairview Heights, IL: 13.3 %Fairview Heights, IL13.3Granite City, IL: 12.9 %Granite City, IL12.9Maywood, IL: 12.8 %Maywood, IL12.8Urbana, IL: 12.8 %Urbana, IL12.8Markham, IL: 12.7 %Markham, IL12.7Champaign, IL: 12.6 %Champaign, IL12.6Peoria, IL: 12.5 %Peoria, IL12.5Centralia, IL: 12.5 %Centralia, IL12.5Ottawa, IL: 12.2 %Ottawa, IL12.2Dolton, IL: 12.1 %Dolton, IL12.1Jacksonville, IL: 12 %Jacksonville, IL12Herrin, IL: 11.7 %Herrin, IL11.7Taylorville, IL: 11.5 %Taylorville, IL11.5Wood River, IL: 11.5 %Wood River, IL11.5North Chicago, IL: 11.3 %North Chicago, IL11.3Fox Lake, IL: 11.2 %Fox Lake, IL11.2Rock Island, IL: 11.2 %Rock Island, IL11.2Chicago, IL: 11.2 %Chicago, IL11.2Crestwood, IL: 10.7 %Crestwood, IL10.7Mahomet, IL: 10.5 %Mahomet, IL10.5Sterling, IL: 10.4 %Sterling, IL10.4Normal, IL: 10.4 %Normal, IL10.4
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021 (%)
1East St. Louis, IL28.8
2Riverdale, IL25.4
3Harvey, IL24.7
4Macomb, IL21
5Carbondale, IL20.1
6Danville, IL18.1
7Kankakee, IL17
8Mount Vernon, IL15.9
9Charleston, IL15.6
10Calumet City, IL15
11Rantoul, IL14.8
12Decatur, IL14.7
13Kewanee, IL14.1
14Belleville, IL13.8
15Alton, IL13.6
16Chicago Heights, IL13.5
16Hazel Crest, IL13.5
18Galesburg, IL13.4
19Fairview Heights, IL13.3
20Granite City, IL12.9
21Maywood, IL12.8
21Urbana, IL12.8
23Markham, IL12.7
24Champaign, IL12.6
25Peoria, IL12.5
26Centralia, IL12.5
27Ottawa, IL12.2
28Dolton, IL12.1
29Jacksonville, IL12
30Herrin, IL11.7
31Taylorville, IL11.5
31Wood River, IL11.5
33North Chicago, IL11.3
34Fox Lake, IL11.2
35Rock Island, IL11.2
36Chicago, IL11.2
37Crestwood, IL10.7
38Mahomet, IL10.5
39Sterling, IL10.4
40Normal, IL10.4
41Northbrook, IL10.4
42Marion, IL10.4
43Springfield, IL10.1
44Freeport, IL10.1
45Park Forest, IL10
46Canton, IL10
47Mattoon, IL9.9
48Quincy, IL9.9
49Rockford, IL9.9
50East Peoria, IL9.7
51Shiloh, IL9.6
52Evanston, IL9.4
53Bradley, IL9.4
54Justice, IL9.3
55Dixon, IL9.3
56Pekin, IL9.2
57Lincolnwood, IL9.2
58Moline, IL8.8
59River Grove, IL8.8
60Blue Island, IL8.8
60Zion, IL8.8
62Chicago Ridge, IL8.7
63Summit, IL8.7
64Forest Park, IL8.5
65Lake Forest, IL8.5
66Pontiac, IL8.4
67Bloomington, IL8.4
68Lyons, IL8.3
69Berwyn, IL8.3
70Lansing, IL8.2
71Winnetka, IL8.2
72La Grange Park, IL8.1
73Franklin Park, IL8
74Edwardsville, IL7.8
75Cicero, IL7.8
76Lincoln, IL7.7
76Westmont, IL7.7
78Vernon Hills, IL7.5
79Burr Ridge, IL7.5
80Melrose Park, IL7.3
81Country Club Hills, IL7.3
82Elmwood Park, IL7.2
83Richton Park, IL7.2
84East Moline, IL7.1
85Morton, IL7
86O'Fallon, IL6.9
87Plano, IL6.9
88Worth, IL6.8
89Streator, IL6.7
90Bridgeview, IL6.6
90Park Ridge, IL6.6
92Hinsdale, IL6.5
93Columbia, IL6.4
94DeKalb, IL6.4
95Bourbonnais, IL6.3
96Collinsville, IL6.3
97Palatine, IL6.1
97Schiller Park, IL6.1
99Swansea, IL6.1
100Des Plaines, IL6.1
100Effingham, IL6.1
102Oak Lawn, IL6.1
103Bellwood, IL6
104Glen Carbon, IL5.9
105Oak Park, IL5.8
105Washington, IL5.8
107Joliet, IL5.8
107Palos Heights, IL5.8
109River Forest, IL5.8
110Morton Grove, IL5.8
110Mount Prospect, IL5.8
112Wauconda, IL5.7
113Lombard, IL5.7
114South Holland, IL5.7
115Glenview, IL5.6
115Homewood, IL5.6
117Waterloo, IL5.6
118Wheaton, IL5.6
119Brookfield, IL5.6
120Hickory Hills, IL5.5
120Waukegan, IL5.5
122Loves Park, IL5.5
123Belvidere, IL5.3
124Skokie, IL5.3
125Villa Park, IL5.1
126Godfrey, IL5.1
126Palos Hills, IL5.1
128Wilmette, IL5
129Romeoville, IL5
130Norridge, IL5
131Matteson, IL5
132Arlington Heights, IL5
133Niles, IL4.9
134Lindenhurst, IL4.8
135Glendale Heights, IL4.8
136Schaumburg, IL4.8
137West Chicago, IL4.8
137Wood Dale, IL4.8
139Rolling Meadows, IL4.8
140Elk Grove Village, IL4.7
141Downers Grove, IL4.7
141Shorewood, IL4.7
143Lisle, IL4.6
143St. Charles, IL4.6
145Alsip, IL4.6
145Lockport, IL4.6
145Northlake, IL4.6
148Aurora, IL4.6
149Naperville, IL4.6
150Tinley Park, IL4.5
151Crystal Lake, IL4.5
151Round Lake Beach, IL4.5
153Bloomingdale, IL4.4
154Hoffman Estates, IL4.4
155Barrington, IL4.4
155Frankfort, IL4.4
157Chatham, IL4.3
157Machesney Park, IL4.3
159Burbank, IL4.3
160Wheeling, IL4.3
161Highland Park, IL4.2
162Glen Ellyn, IL4.2
163Lake Zurich, IL4.2
164Manhattan, IL4.1
164Mokena, IL4.1
166La Grange, IL4.1
167Roscoe, IL4.1
168Grayslake, IL4.1
169Elmhurst, IL4.1
170Gurnee, IL4
170Orland Park, IL4
172Sycamore, IL4
173Beach Park, IL4
174Montgomery, IL4
175Mundelein, IL3.9
176Midlothian, IL3.8
176New Lenox, IL3.8
178Antioch, IL3.7
179Homer Glen, IL3.7
180Geneva, IL3.6
181Warrenville, IL3.6
181Woodridge, IL3.6
183Streamwood, IL3.6
184Bensenville, IL3.5
184Huntley, IL3.5
186Elgin, IL3.5
187Evergreen Park, IL3.4
188Western Springs, IL3.4
189Batavia, IL3.4
190Libertyville, IL3.3
191Lemont, IL3.3
192Woodstock, IL3.3
193Round Lake, IL3.3
194Crest Hill, IL3.2
195Westchester, IL3.2
196Hanover Park, IL3.2
197Troy, IL3.1
198Buffalo Grove, IL3.1
199Morris, IL3
200Darien, IL2.9
201Bolingbrook, IL2.9
202Winfield, IL2.9
203North Aurora, IL2.8
204Carol Stream, IL2.8
205Carpentersville, IL2.6
206Bartlett, IL2.6
207Addison, IL2.6
208Algonquin, IL2.5
209Highland, IL2.4
210South Elgin, IL2.3
211McHenry, IL2.3
212Oak Forest, IL2.2
212Roselle, IL2.2
214Plainfield, IL2.1
215Campton Hills, IL2
216Lake in the Hills, IL1.7
217Prospect Heights, IL1.7
218Deerfield, IL1.7
219Cary, IL1.6
220Pingree Grove, IL1.4
221Yorkville, IL1.3
222Channahon, IL1
223Minooka, IL0.9
224Oswego, IL0.7

Other periods

About this ranking

Vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units.

More on how it is measured
  • Vacant units include those for rent or for sale, rented or sold but not yet occupied, for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, for migrant workers, and other vacant units.
  • United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

This gross rate counts seasonal and other off-market vacant units, so it is much higher than the rental and homeowner vacancy rates of the Housing Vacancy Survey (rental_vacancy_rate and homeowner_vacancy_rate) and cannot be compared with them. Counties with many holiday homes have high rates.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Illinois by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Illinois by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/illinois-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Illinois by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/illinois-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Illinois by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/illinois-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_illinois_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Illinois by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/illinois-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Illinois by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/illinois-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/illinois-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Illinois by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)?

East St. Louis, IL, with 28.8% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)?

Oswego, IL, with 0.7% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 cities have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US): other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings