Chicago Information

Chicago, with 2.8 million people in 2005, is the third largest city in the United States and the dominant city in the American Midwest. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan in northwestern Illinois, Chicago is a city famous for both its blue-collar attitude and its elegant skyscrapers, indicative of the fact that the "The Windy City" is both hard-scrabble and cosmopolitan at the same time.

Chicago has a rich and lurid history filled with stories of gangsters, fires, railroads, and politics; it almost seems like Chicago's stories were pulled straight from the big screen.

The railroad boom coincided with the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848, which allowed passage from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River. But Chicago didn't really erupt in size until after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which basically destroyed the city's infrastructure and forced city planners to rebuild, which they did quickly and successfully.

Al Capone, arguably America's most notorious gangster, rose to prominence in Chicago during Prohibition in the 1920's. He benefited from the illegality of alcohol to help create an empire of gambling, bribery, prostitution, protection, and providing potential imbibers with their desired, yet contraband, drink of choice.

Chicago has a long tradition of progressive politics, and current Mayor Richard M. Daly is the latest in a line of Democrats that Chicagoans have elected to public office. Richard M. Daley is actually the son of one of the most influential mayors in American history, Richard J. Daley, who was mayor of Chicago from 1955 until he died in 1976. The infamously chaotic 1968 Democratic Convention was held in Chicago, but that event didn't alter the area's politics. In 2004, 81.28% of Chicagoans voted for John Kerry, while only 18.21% voted for George W. Bush.

A quick glance at Chicago would reveal none of this history. Another aspect of Chicago that may elude the casual observer is its strong Eastern European ties. Chicago has large populations of Polish-Americans and Polish immigrants; in fact, Chicago has the largest Polish population, by ethnicity, outside of Poland. This is also true for Serbians and Lithuanians, plus the city has sizeable Greek, Romanian, and Assyrian populations. This makes sausage quite a popular treat in the city, but deep-dish Chicago-style pizza is still the king when it comes to delicacies for which Chicago is famous.

Even without these hidden attributes - a rich history, and a strong multi-cultural identity - Chicago can take one's breath away in an instant with its gorgeous, soaring skyline on the lake. The Sears Tower, once the tallest building in the world, now must settle for tallest building in North America. Chicagoans will no doubt manage to get past that demotion, especially considering they have so many other things going for them.

Population of Chicago: 2,800,000
Population of Chicagoland Metro Area: 9.3 million
Renter-occupied units (2000): 597,009
Population Density: 12,750 per square mile
Population between ages 18-44: 44.60%
Per Capita Income: $20,175
Median Gross Rent: $616
Population Online: 44.80%
NEI Ranking: 19

About Movefrog

The search for Chicago rental properties can be tedious and frustrating if you don't have the right tools at your disposal. Movefrog is here to help you with all the aspects of moving to or within Chicago, from the moment the idea to move pops into your head until you are relaxing in your new home.

Movefrog provides you, the renter, with free information to help you decide which area of Chicago you would like to live in. You can use Movefrog without cost to analyze the average rental costs for apartments, houses, rooms for rent, condominiums, townhouses, lofts, and any other rental situation you can think of in the Chicago area. Livefrog, the Community section of Movefrog, will even let you interact with other prospective renters looking in the same area of Chicago and those people who recently rented an apartment or house in that area.

There are a wide range of Chicago rentals, and you can search through these absolutely free at Movefrog. Just spend a few seconds to set up a free account and you will be able to peruse our free rental listings whenever you please. We have a very easy-to-navigate website that allows you to specify what type of rental you are looking for, from the price and area all the way down to whether you want a balcony or a patio. All of our free rental listings have maps and descriptions, and most have photos of the apartment for rent or house for rent in question.

Movefrog understands you lead a busy life even without the strain of the moving process, and we have instant notification available through either email or SMS text message which will let you know the moment a rental becomes available that matches what you are looking for. All you have to do on your end is to contact the landlord and check out the rental, but Movefrog's commitment to helping you rent a great place in Chicago does not end there.

Renters can use Movefrog to get better deals on some of the renting essentials, such as moving, phone service, and satellite TV, just to name a few. Movefrog is here to make renting an apartment or house in Chicago as simple a process as possible.