Chicago / North Chicago
North Chicago has 30,643 residents (give or take 262) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19), about 3,832 people per square mile.
North Chicago is about 34 miles from the Census center point for Chicago in a straight line and covers 7.996 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 North Chicago that is 60064, 60088 (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 North Chicago is $60,172 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1753559, 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.
3,832 people per square mile puts North Chicago in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
38% of North Chicago homes are single-family detached, 20% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 28% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19).
67% of North Chicago homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 38% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
North Chicago has 29 points fewer detached houses than Lake County overall (67%) and 12 points more five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 16% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US17097, checked 2026-10-19).
With 67% of North Chicago homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19), most heat pump quotes here are landlord-driven: the landlord signs the contract and picks the equipment, and the tenant sees the lower bill.
Of the 7,036 occupied homes in North Chicago, 71% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 25% with electricity and 1% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 71% of North Chicago against electricity at 25%, 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.
North Chicago has about the Lake County oil share of 0% and 10 points more electric heat than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US17097, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for North 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 North Chicago address before counting it. With 25% of North Chicago homes already on electric heat and 72% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
North Chicago has 7,894 housing units, 19% built before 1940 and 62% before 1980, with 16% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19).
North Chicago has 11 points more pre-1940 homes than Lake County as a whole (8%) and 4 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 20% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US17097, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median North Chicago home was built in 1973 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19).
62% of North Chicago homes were built before 1980 and only 16% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1753559, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
Heating design temperature: -3F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Lake 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 Lake County cold-day number a North 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 71% of North Chicago on gas and 25% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median North Chicago home has 5 rooms and was built around 1973, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for North Chicago. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for North Chicago yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.