Elwood, Illinois

Population

Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.

2,237

people, the 457th-largest of Illinois's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Illinois's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

98.3%

of 2,480 jobs located in Elwood are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 40% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,201

a month. Illinois's median is $1,274.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,976 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Will County.

• $1,525 Tract 8810.05
• $3,501 Tract 8810.11

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$1,034–$1,550

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,201 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

71% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 37 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 59% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 71% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1–2.7% to the 934 homes here.

1–25

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 10% less than Illinois's.

$237,500

median home value in Elwood.

• $237,500 Elwood
• $263,300 Illinois
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year