📊 Key takeaways for Mundelein owners
- Mundelein is really two rental markets. Detached houses rent for a median of about $2,500, while attached homes (townhomes, condos, and duplexes) rent for about $2,200.
- The rent gap between the two comes almost entirely from square footage. Detached and attached homes rent for nearly the same price per square foot, around $1.70.
- Median rent across all Mundelein rentals rose from about $1,950 in early 2022 to about $2,495 in mid-2026, a gain of about 28% over five years.
- About 29% of Mundelein rental listings were canceled or expired without renting over the window, usually a sign of ambitious pricing in a market that still rewards realistic rents.
📍 About Mundelein, IL
Mundelein is a village of about 32,000 people in central Lake County, roughly 35 miles northwest of Chicago. It anchors the medical-products and light-manufacturing corridor that runs through the county, and its employment base leans on manufacturing, retail, and health care. Recognizable local employers include MacLean-Fogg, Medline, and the University of Saint Mary of the Lake seminary, which gives the village its name and remains one of its largest employers. The community is served by well-regarded public schools and Carmel Catholic High School, sits on the Metra Milwaukee District North Line, and draws families with its parks, restaurants, and summer events like Mundelein Community Days. That mix of jobs, schools, and commuter access keeps steady rental demand across both single-family houses and attached homes.
🏘️ Two markets: Mundelein detached vs attached homes
Most Lake County towns are really two rental markets, and Mundelein is a clear example, much like nearby Libertyville. Detached single-family houses and attached homes (townhomes, condos, and duplexes) carry different rents, mostly because of size. Over the past five years, Mundelein produced 142 closed detached leases and 386 closed attached leases, so both segments are large enough to report on their own.
Metric | Detached | Attached | Lake County |
Median rent | $2,500 | $2,200 | $2,350 |
Median days on market | 20 | 18 | 20 |
Median home size | 1,577 sqft | 1,326 sqft | 1,432 sqft |
Rent per sqft | $1.67 | $1.74 | $1.67 |
Sample size (5 yr) | 142 | 386 | 7,296 |
The headline number is the $300 monthly gap between a detached house and an attached home. The reason is space. A median detached rental in Mundelein offers about 1,577 square feet against 1,326 for the typical attached home, roughly 19% more room. On a per-square-foot basis the two are almost identical, about $1.67 for detached and $1.74 for attached. Attached homes actually edge out houses slightly per foot, which is common because smaller units carry a higher base rent for kitchens, baths, and fixed systems. For an owner, the practical read is simple. A detached house earns more total rent because tenants pay for the extra footage, so price a house to its size and a townhome or condo to the per-foot benchmark rather than assuming a house automatically commands a premium per foot.
Both segments lease quickly. Detached homes sit a median of 20 days on market and attached homes 18, both right around the Lake County median of 20 days. Mundelein as a whole accounts for about 7% of all closed Lake County leases over the period, a meaningful slice of the county market.
📈 Mundelein rent trends, 2022 to 2026
Rents climbed steadily across both segments over the five-year window, with detached houses growing faster than attached homes.
Median detached-home rent in Mundelein climbed from about $2,200 in early 2022 to about $3,000 in the most recent six months, a gain of about 36% over the five-year window. Median attached-home rent rose from about $1,900 to about $2,370 over the same period, a gain of about 25%. Detached rent grew faster partly because the segment is smaller and lease-to-lease swings are larger, and partly because demand for move-in-ready houses with yards stayed strong as for-sale inventory tightened.
Figure 1. Median monthly rent, Mundelein detached vs attached. Source, MRED MLS Grid.
The chart smooths each segment with a three-month rolling median, since the detached line in particular is built on only a few leases per month and would otherwise look jagged. The direction is what matters: both lines trend up across the window, with detached pulling further ahead in the last two years.
📅 When does Mundelein rent fastest?
Mundelein follows the standard Lake County leasing calendar, and the pattern is clearest in the attached segment, which closes enough leases per month to read reliably. Attached homes rent fastest in spring and early fall. April, May, and September each post a median of about 14 days on market, while December stretches to about 48 days and January to about 29. The slow winter window reflects thin demand around the holidays and cold weather, when fewer renters move.
Figure 2. Median days on market by month, Mundelein attached homes vs Lake County. Source, MRED MLS Grid.
The takeaway for owners is to aim vacancies at the April-to-September stretch. If a lease is coming up for renewal in late fall, a short-term or odd-length lease that pushes the next turnover into spring can cut weeks of vacancy. On a $2,200 attached rental, trimming a December listing from 48 days down to a spring-typical 14 saves roughly five weeks of lost rent, about $2,500. The detached segment leases too few homes per month to chart its seasonality reliably, so the monthly pattern above is shown for attached homes and the county.
💡 What this means for Mundelein property owners
- Time your listing. Aim to have units available between April and September. Spring and early-fall vacancies in Mundelein lease in about two weeks, while winter listings can sit a month or more.
- Price to the per-sqft benchmark. Attached homes rent for about $1.74 per square foot and detached houses about $1.67. Multiply your finished square footage by the right figure before setting a number, then adjust for condition and bedroom count.
- Plan for vacancy cost. With a median around 18 to 20 days on market, budget for two to three weeks of vacancy at turnover in season, and considerably more if you list in December or January.
- Match the rent to the home type. A detached house should be priced for its size, and an attached home to the per-foot benchmark. The roughly 29% of listings that were pulled or expired without renting usually started above what the market would pay.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What is the average rent in Mundelein, IL?
The median rent across all Mundelein rentals over the past five years is about $2,250 a month. Detached single-family houses run higher at a median of about $2,500, while attached homes such as townhomes and condos run about $2,200. By size, one-bedroom units rent for a median around $1,500, two-bedrooms around $2,100, and three-bedrooms around $2,600.
How long does it take to rent a home in Mundelein?
The typical Mundelein rental leases in about 18 to 20 days, close to the Lake County median of 20 days. Spring and early-fall listings move faster, around two weeks, while winter listings take noticeably longer.
When is the best time to list a Mundelein rental?
April through September. Attached homes posted their lowest days on market in April, May, and September, each around 14 days. December is the slowest month by a wide margin.
Why do detached homes rent for more than attached homes in Mundelein?
Almost entirely because of size. The median detached rental offers about 1,577 square feet versus 1,326 for attached homes. On a per-square-foot basis the two are nearly equal, around $1.70, so the higher detached rent reflects more space rather than a premium for the home type itself.
Is Mundelein a good market for rental investment?
Mundelein combines steady employment, commuter rail access, and well-regarded schools, and rents have risen about 28% over five years with homes leasing in roughly three weeks. Those are healthy fundamentals for a buy-and-hold rental. As always, returns depend on purchase price, condition, and financing.
Who manages rental properties in Mundelein, IL?
Cruise Property Management offers full-service property management for Mundelein owners. Visit our Mundelein property management page for details.
Curious about your Mundelein rental?
Cruise Property Management provides rental analysis and full-service management for Mundelein owners.
Methodology. Data source, MRED MLS Grid. Mundelein closed residential lease transactions, January 2022 to June 2026. Market figures (rent, days on market, size, rent per square foot) count closed leases only. Canceled and expired listings are excluded from those figures because their list price is an asking rent, not an achieved one, and are used only for the share-of-listings-that-did-not-rent figure. Homes are split into detached and attached using the MLS property-attached classification. The detached segment's monthly and seasonal breakdowns are omitted because its monthly sample is too small to be reliable; seasonal figures reflect attached homes and the county. The Lake County comparison includes all closed Lake County, IL residential leases for the same period, expressed as the median of monthly medians. All figures are medians unless otherwise noted.
