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Why people love it

A working industrial suburb with real jobs inside it, which keeps the rental demand local and steady.

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What's drawing people

Metra Milwaukee District West and the junction of I-290 and North Avenue.

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The value

Up 216% since 2013 to about $430,000, on 1,086 small apartment buildings.

What people say about Melrose Park

Two to four unit buildings in Melrose Park went from about $136,000 in 2013 to about $430,000 in 2025, roughly 216%. — Cook County Assessor
Melrose Park has 1,086 parcels classed as 2-to-6 units, fifth most outside Chicago. — Cook County Assessor
Neighboring Berwyn two-bedroom rents run about $1,650. — Zumper

Melrose Park still has industry inside it, and that is unusual enough in 2026 to be the main thing worth knowing about the rental market here.

The village sits west of Oak Park along North Avenue, and unlike most inner-ring suburbs it never fully de-industrialized. There are still working plants and distribution operations within the municipal boundaries, which means a share of the tenant base works within a few miles of where it lives.

That matters for an owner. Rental demand tied to local employment behaves differently from rental demand tied to a downtown commute, and it tends to be steadier through economic cycles.

Metra's Milwaukee District West line stops here, and the I-290 and North Avenue junction puts most of the western suburbs within a short drive.

County records put the median 2-to-4 unit sale at roughly $136,000 in 2013 and about $430,000 in 2025, up around 216%, or 10.1% a year, on 44 or more sales per window. Melrose Park has 1,086 parcels classed as 2-to-6 units, fifth most outside Chicago.

The sample here is thinner than Cicero or Berwyn, at 44 sales minimum in a rolling window, so I would treat the year-to-year wiggles as noise and the overall direction as the signal.

Last updated August 2026.