Sell Your Commercial Property In Springfield, IL

Who rents in Springfield

Springfield has 113,330 residents in the ACS 2020–2024 estimates. Of 51,040 occupied homes, 32,797 are owner-occupied and 18,243 are rented, a 35.7% renter share. The median household income is $66,064. Rent burden is still common: 7,946 renter households, 43.6%, spend 30% or more of income on housing, and 24.5% spend half or more.

The demand base is unusual for a city this size. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 26,500 government jobs in the Springfield metro in June 2026 (preliminary), about a quarter of 106,000 nonfarm jobs, reflecting state agencies in the capital. Education and health services, which include the Memorial Health and HSHS hospital systems named on this page, add 23,200 jobs. Metro unemployment was 4.3%.

Rents and affordability

The Census median of $975 includes utilities and averages five years of leases. HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents for the Springfield MSA set voucher payment standards and give a second benchmark:

The two-bedroom FMR is $228 above the city's median gross rent. For buildings that accept vouchers, that gap is room to move rents as leases turn. For market-rate units, the limit is income: a household paying $975 needs about $39,000 a year to keep rent at 30% of income, and many renters in Springfield already spend more than that share.

Compared with other downstate cities, Springfield's median gross rent of $975 is slightly below Rockford's $985 and Peoria's $1,005, while its median household income of $66,064 is higher than either city's ($54,752 and $59,410). That puts rents lower relative to incomes here, which gives owners a little more room on renewals than in those markets.

The apartment stock

Springfield's median year built is 1972, later than Peoria's 1966 or Rockford's 1963 in the same survey. Of 57,424 housing units, 37,254 are single-family detached. Buildings with five or more units hold 9,588 homes, 16.7% of the total: 3,020 in buildings of five to nine units, 2,503 in buildings of 10 to 19, 988 in buildings of 20 to 49, and 3,077 in complexes of 50 or more. Two- to four-unit buildings add 3,968 homes and mobile homes 1,946. With 18,243 renter households and only 9,588 units in five-plus buildings, many Springfield tenants rent houses and small buildings, which compete with apartments on price.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Sangamon County

Illinois assesses property outside Cook County at 33⅓% of market value, with no separate class for apartments and no cap on an individual property's assessment. Township assessors revalue property every four years under the county's supervisor of assessments, and a state multiplier equalizes the county to the one-third level. Appeals go first to the Sangamon County Board of Review and then to the Property Tax Appeal Board within 30 days of the board's written notice.

Rates are high. The Sangamon County system shows a combined tax year 2025 rate of 8.0964% for tax code 091, a Capital Township code that includes Springfield addresses. Of that, Springfield School District 186 levies 5.1397% on an equalized value of about $2.67 billion. Applied to a one-third assessment, 8.0964% works out to about 2.7% of market value, or roughly $27,000 a year on a $1 million building. Rates differ by tax code, so a buyer will pull the exact parcel bill.

Landlord rules and local compliance

• Rent control: the Illinois Attorney General states that Illinois has no rent control law, and state law preempts local rent control.
• Registration: Springfield has no landlord registration ordinance. At the city council's September 1, 2026 meeting, residents and the local landlord association debated the idea again; one alderman said sessions are planned to develop language, but no proposal has been filed.
• Deposits: in buildings of five or more units, the Security Deposit Return Act requires an itemized damage statement within 30 days and full return within 45 days if nothing is deducted; violations can cost twice the deposit plus fees. Buildings of 25 or more units owe annual interest on deposits held six months.
• Nonpayment: Illinois requires a written five-day notice before an eviction suit.
• Transfer: the state transfer tax is $0.50 per $500 of value, or $1,000 on a $1 million sale, plus a county transfer tax.

What this means if you own a building here

A Springfield buyer will weigh steady government and hospital demand against a heavy tax line. Expect close review of trailing net operating income, the current Sangamon County assessment and any recent appeal, and how rents compare with HUD's FMRs. Having the last two tax bills and a current rent roll ready makes that review faster.

Skyline buys 5+ unit buildings in Springfield, including Downtown Springfield and the West Side, and in Chatham and Sherman. Try the cap rate calculator or start at sell my apartment building.