Chicago / Chicago
Chicago has 2,711,226 residents (give or take 63) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19), about 11,904 people per square mile.
Chicago is the city this door is named for; it covers 227.748 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Chicago that is 60018, 60106, 60601, 60602, 60603, 60604, 60605, 60606 and 52 more (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Median household income in Chicago is $77,902 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
At 11,904 people per square mile, Chicago is dense enough that noise setback rules and outdoor-unit placement on a small lot are the first questions the installer works through.
26% of Chicago homes are single-family detached, 27% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 43% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19).
With 43% of Chicago homes in buildings of five or more units and 26% detached, the condo association usually decides where outdoor units can go, so that approval comes before the quote. With 54% of Chicago homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Chicago has 14 points fewer detached houses than Cook County overall (40%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US17031, checked 2026-10-19).
54% of Chicago homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19), so the market splits between resident-led jobs where the occupant picks the system and landlord-led jobs where they do not, and the rebate paperwork differs.
Of the 1,160,205 occupied homes in Chicago, 78% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 18% with electricity and 2% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 78% of Chicago against electricity at 18%, so most quotes here are a partial-home system that carries the shoulder seasons and the summer while the gas furnace handles the coldest nights, or a whole-home system when the house is ready for it.
Chicago has about the Cook County oil share of 0% and 2 points more electric heat than the county's 16% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US17031, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Chicago on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Ameren Illinois Instant Incentives (ducted ASHP), run by Ameren Illinois, is a live program for Illinois addresses and lists a standard figure of $900 (registry row 45 verified 2026-10-15, https://amerenillinoissavings.com/residential/ducted-air-source-heat-pump/, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Chicago address before counting it. With 18% of Chicago homes already on electric heat and 80% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Chicago has 1,277,054 housing units, 39% built before 1940 and 75% before 1980, with 15% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19).
Chicago has 11 points more pre-1940 homes than Cook County as a whole (28%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US17031, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Chicago home was built in 1953 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 4.7 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19).
39% of Chicago homes were built before 1940 and 75% before 1980 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1714000, checked 2026-10-19), so insulation is the first sizing question: an older home leaks more heat per square foot, and the installer runs a room-by-room heat-loss calculation to size the system for what the walls and windows actually hold in, not just the floor plan.
Heating design temperature: -3F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Cook County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 29 to 33 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -3F figure is the Cook County cold-day number a Chicago heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -3F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 78% of Chicago on gas and 18% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; a Chicago house from before 1940 (39% of the 1,277,054 units) rarely matches a square-footage rule of thumb.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Chicago. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Chicago yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.