Chicagoans Struggle with Affordability While Grappling with Perceptions of Crime
ChicagoSpeaks is the only probability-based panel built exclusively for Chicago, giving decision-makers reliable evidence on residents’ opinions and priorities.
Q2 2026
A new ChicagoSpeaks survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago finds that affordability is a major concern for Chicago residents, with Chicagoans more likely than Americans nationwide to describe the cost of living as unaffordable.
Financial strain is especially pronounced among Black and Hispanic residents, who are more likely to report difficulty making ends meet and paying their monthly bills. At the same time, concerns about public safety remain widespread.
Many Chicagoans believe violent crime has increased across the city, and a majority report feeling unsafe walking alone in their neighborhoods at night. Perceptions of crime appear closely tied to social media exposure, with residents who report more frequent encounters with crime-related content online also more likely to believe crime is increasing.
Affordability concerns are especially prominent among Chicago residents. Chicagoans are more likely than Americans overall to view the cost of living as unaffordable. Most report they are just getting by or finding it difficult to get by, with about a third saying they cannot pay their monthly bills in full.
Two-thirds of Chicago residents (67 percent) describe the cost of living in the area they live as either not very affordable or not affordable at all. While Americans nationwide express similar concerns, the share is somewhat lower: a nationally representative Marist poll conducted in April 2026 found that 56 percent of Americans characterize the cost of living as unaffordable.
Although a majority of both White and Black adults view Chicago as unaffordable, White adults are more likely than Black adults to describe their area as not very affordable or not affordable at all. Hispanic adults and Asian American and Pacific Islander adults fall between White and Black adults in their perceptions of affordability. Women are also more likely than men to report that the area where they live is not very affordable or not affordable at all.
“Chicagoans are more likely than Americans overall to view the cost of living as unaffordable.”
In addition to the two-thirds of Chicagoans who find their local area unaffordable, 16 percent report struggling to get by financially, and another 43 percent say they are just getting by. About a third (35 percent) describe themselves as living comfortably. Few (6 percent), however, say they are thriving financially.
White adults are more likely than Black and Hispanic adults to say they are living comfortably. On the other hand, Black and Hispanic adults are more likely than White adults to say they are just getting by. Asian American and Pacific Islanders describe their financial situations similar to Chicagoans overall.
Methodology
The Chicago poll was conducted June 15–23, 2026, using ChicagoSpeaks®, NORC at the University of Chicago’s probability-based panel of Chicago residents. Online interviews were completed with 1,194 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 4.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, including the design effect.
NORC conducted the survey using two probability-based sample sources: (1) AmeriSpeak® panelists residing in Chicago and (2) ChicagoSpeaks panelists. Final survey estimates were calibrated to account for the two sample sources. This research supports a scientifically rigorous, community-driven resource that informs policymakers and the public about the experiences and opinions of Chicago residents.
Interviews were conducted online in English and Spanish with Chicago residents ages 18 and older. AmeriSpeak panelists were invited through the password-protected AmeriSpeak Mobile App and received email and SMS reminders, while ChicagoSpeaks panelists received email and SMS invitations. Respondents received a small monetary incentive for completing the survey.
Quality assurance checks were conducted to ensure data quality. In total, 30 interviews were removed for nonresponse to at least 50 percent of the questions asked of them or for completing the survey in less than one-third the median interview time for the full sample. These interviews were excluded from the data file prior to weighting.
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About ChicagoSpeaks
Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, ChicagoSpeaks® is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the Chicago household population.
For more information, email ChicagoSpeaks-BD@norc.org.
About NORC at the University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.
Contact: For more information, please email press@norc.org or call (877) 832-0392.
