Chicago Apartment Utility Costs: What to Budget Each Month

TL;DR For a Chicago one-bedroom, budget roughly $45 to $130 a month for ComEd electricity, $35 to $70 for internet, and, if gas is in your name, $30 to $55 in summer rising to $90 to $165 in deep winter for Peoples Gas. The biggest variable is whether heat is included in your rent, which can erase the winter gas bill entirely.

Rent is the headline, but utilities decide your real monthly cost, and in Chicago they swing hard with the seasons. Here is what to budget, who provides what, and the one question that changes everything.

Who provides what

Three categories, three setups.

Electricity comes from ComEd, the single electric utility for the city. Every renter who pays their own power needs a ComEd account.

Gas comes from Peoples Gas within city limits. This only matters to your budget if gas is in your name (more on that below).

Internet is competitive, with Xfinity, AT&T Fiber, and Astound as the main providers. Availability is address-specific, so a building across the street can have different options. If fast internet matters, check what is wired to your exact unit before you sign.

What to budget each month

Here are realistic 2026 ranges for a one-bedroom.

Utility	Summer	Winter
Electricity (ComEd)	$80-$130 (AC)	$45-$70
Gas (Peoples, tenant-paid)	$30-$55	$90-$165
Internet	$35-$70	$35-$70

Electricity peaks in summer when the AC runs and drops in winter (assuming you heat with gas). Gas does the opposite, sitting low in summer and spiking in deep winter if you pay your own heat. Internet stays flat year-round, though watch for promo rates that jump after 12 months and equipment rental fees you can avoid by buying your own modem.

The question that changes everything: is heat included?

This is the single biggest factor in your utility budget, and a lot of renters miss it.

Many vintage Chicago buildings (think 1920s courtyard buildings, greystones, and older mid-rises) heat with a central boiler and radiators. In those, the landlord pays the gas for heat and bakes it into the rent. The result is a stable winter with no Peoples Gas heating bill at all.

Newer buildings and gut-rehabs often have individual forced-air furnaces, which means the heat is in your name and you get the winter gas bill. That bill can run $90 to $165 in a normal cold month and climb past $200 in a deep freeze.

So a slightly higher rent with heat included can be cheaper overall than a lower rent where you pay your own winter gas. It is worth doing the full-year math, not just comparing rents.

How to tell which a building is

You can spot it on a tour. Cast-iron radiators or baseboard pipes along the walls almost always mean central, heat-included heat. Floor or ceiling vents blowing air, with a furnace in a closet, usually mean forced-air and a tenant-paid bill.

When in doubt, just ask: "Is heat included in the rent, and is the gas in the tenant's name?" Get the answer in writing in the lease, where the utility responsibilities are spelled out.

How to keep it low

A few easy wins: enroll in budget billing with Peoples Gas and ComEd to smooth the seasonal spikes into a steady monthly number, buy your own modem to skip the internet equipment fee, and seal drafts before winter. We cover the heating side in detail in our save on your heating bill guide, and the account setup in our setting up utilities guide.

Add utilities to your rent and you have your true monthly cost, which is the number that actually matters when comparing apartments. Then browse current openings and book a tour.

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