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Pope County, IL

Rent vs Own in Pope County, Illinois

Owning the median home in Pope County clears the monthly bar: about $892/mo versus HUD's $1,087/mo 2-bedroom rent. The stack below shows which line items create that edge. Owner-occupied homes: 1,195.

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Buying is cheaper in Pope County

Owning runs about $892/mo here, under $1,087/mo to rent a comparable 2-bedroom. That is a $195/mo difference.

Based on 20% down, 6.5% rate, 30-year mortgage. Adjust below.

What This Data Tells Us About Renting vs Owning in Pope County

Primary driver

HUD moved the rent benchmark up

HUD raised its 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent for Pope County from $881/mo in FY2025 to $1,087/mo in FY2026: it increased by $206/mo (+23.4%). A rising rent benchmark widens the gap in favour of owning over time, because the mortgage share of the ownership cost below is fixed at origination while the rent it is compared against reprices every year.

Decision signal 2

Income supports the median purchase price

Median household income is $60,050, and the 2.4x home-price-to-income ratio leaves room for the ownership stack (property tax alone is 2.5% of median income). The monthly gap above is more about mortgage rate and insurance assumptions than about the purchase price being out of reach.

Decision signal 3

The county sits near the state middle

Using the assumptions above, Pope County ranks 31 of 102 Illinois counties for buy-vs-rent value (rank 1 = the best relative deal for buying). It sits ahead of 71 other Illinois counties on this measure.

Decision signal 4

Owning clears the monthly bar here

Pope County's median home ($143,800) carries $1,477/yr in property tax at 1.03%. Under a 20% down, 6.5%, 30-year stack the all-in ownership bill is about $892/mo, which undercuts HUD's $1,087/mo 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent by roughly $195/mo before maintenance, HOA, or closing costs.

Methodology & disclaimer

This calculator is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Property tax figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates and rent figures come from HUD Fair Market Rents; both describe area medians, not individual transactions. Insurance is estimated at 0.35% of home value annually and closing costs, maintenance, HOA, and PMI are not included. Consult a licensed mortgage, tax, or real-estate professional before making a buy-or-rent decision based on these numbers.

Monthly Cost Breakdown

Estimated Monthly Ownership
$892
Mortgage (P&I) $727
Property Tax $123
Insurance (est.) $42
Monthly Rent (2-BR FMR)
$1,087
Studio$749
1-Bedroom$828
2-Bedroom$1,087
3-Bedroom$1,375
4-Bedroom$1,553

Adjust Your Scenario

Affordability Context

Median Household Income
$60,050
$5,004/mo
Home Price / Income
2.4x
Affordable (≤3x)
Tax-to-Income Ratio
2.5%
National benchmark: 2-4%

Who actually pays it here

In Pope County, once the mortgage ends staying put is close to free: the largest cluster of debt-free households faces a yearly charge under $800, so insurance and upkeep, not the tax office, set what the home costs to keep.

Returns in the $75,000 to $100,000 range dominate the deduction in Pope County, though even in that band only about one in nine files for it nationally.

Against that holding-cost profile, the monthly ownership stack already undercuts HUD rent here, so the long-run tax bill is an ownership feature more than a reason to keep renting.

Bill bands are Census ACS counts of owner-occupied homes without a mortgage. Income brackets are IRS Statistics of Income county data for tax year 2022, counted over FILERS reporting real-estate taxes on Schedule A, which is a smaller group than homeowners: most filers take the standard deduction.

Nearby Counties

Cook County
Home: $324,500 Tax: $6,191/yr
DuPage County
Home: $391,400 Tax: $8,007/yr
Will County
Home: $319,600 Tax: $7,173/yr
Lake County
Home: $345,700 Tax: $8,923/yr
Kane County
Home: $327,000 Tax: $7,382/yr
McHenry County
Home: $308,100 Tax: $7,274/yr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Pope County, Illinois? ▼
On the standard 20%-down / 6.5% stack, owning the median Pope County home undercuts HUD's 2-bedroom rent by about $195/mo. Change the down payment, rate, or time horizon in the calculator and that gap can flip - owning also builds equity that rent never does.
Is rent going up or down in Pope County? ▼
HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent figure has risen 23.4% between the FY2025 and FY2026 publications, the two most recent years tracked here.
What is the average rent in Pope County? ▼
HUD prices a 2-bedroom unit at $1,087/mo here. Sizing up matters: going from a studio to a 4-bedroom adds about $804/mo, so the per-bedroom jump is worth checking against your actual space needs before assuming the 2-BR figure applies to your situation.
How much house can you afford in Pope County? ▼
On the common 3x-income guideline, a $60,050 household here can afford up to $180,150, which comfortably covers this county's $143,800 median home price -- a healthier affordability picture than many of the counties tracked on this site.
What is the median home price in Pope County? ▼
$143,800, per the Census Bureau's ACS 5-Year Estimates. The property tax on that value works out to roughly 1.03% a year, in line with typical rates for the area.
How does Pope County compare to other Illinois counties for renting vs buying? ▼
Out of 102 Illinois counties ranked here on buy-vs-rent value, Pope County lands at spot 31, roughly in the middle of the pack statewide. The <a href="/states/illinois">Illinois state page</a> lists every peer county's tax bill beside this one.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey). See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPropertyTax

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Government Finances State and local property tax revenue by jurisdiction · 2025

Verify with HUD →