The City of ‘Mean Girls’: How Much It Costs To Live There in 2003 vs. 2026
Written by
Nicole Spector
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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Get in, loser! We’re taking our financial time machine back to 2003 to get a look at what a middle-class life was like in Evanston, Illinois, the setting of the classic movie “Mean Girls,” which first hit theaters in 2004.
A lot has happened in the past 23 years (“fetch,” alas, did not), and we’re wondering how much it cost to live in the upscale Chicago suburb in 2023 versus today. Let’s break it down as best we can.
Median Household Incomes in 2003
We looked at the Census Bureau data from 1999 to get a solid idea of what the ballpark median household income in Evanston was in 2003 and how it compared to Illinois and the U.S. as a whole. It was a relatively affluent suburb even then.
- Median household income in Evanston in 1999: $56,335
- Median household income in Illinois in 1999: $46,590
- Median household income in the U.S. in 1999: $40,816
Median Household Incomes in 2026
Now let’s fast forward back to 2026. Here’s what the most recent Census Bureau data (2019 to 2023 from the American Community Survey, or ACS) tells us. Evanston is almost at the six-figure mark for middle class earnings.
- Median household income in Evanston (2019-2023): $95,766
- Median household income in Illinois (2024): $83,211
- Median household income in the U.S. (2024): $83,730
Average Cost of Houses in 2003
It’s a little tricky to find out what the average cost of homes in Evanston, Illinois back in 2003 (Zillow wasn’t even born yet), and you’d have to access historical MLS archives to get specific listings data, but we can get a very rough range.
- Average home price in Evanston (2003): Between $200,000 and $400,000
- Average home price in Illinois (March 2003): $286,000
- Average home price in U.S. (Jan. 2003): $230,200
Average Cost of Houses in 2026
The cost of housing across the U.S. has skyrocketed since 2003. Evanston has stayed its affluent course and gotten exceedingly more expensive.
- Average home price in Evanston (2026): $450,551
- Average home price in Illinois (2026): $277,191
- Average home price in U.S. (2026): $357,275
Average Cost of Rent in 2003
Unfortunately, we could not get granular enough with data to say what the average rent was in Evanston, specifically, in 2003, but here’s what we could find:
- Average rent in Cook County (home to Evanston; 2003): $649 to 1,298, depending on the amount of bedrooms
- Average rent Illinois (2003): $277 to $1,298
- Average rent in U.S. (2003): $719
Evanston Was — And Still Is — Pretty Expensive
Today, the cost of living in Evanston, Illinois is 35% higher than the national average. Housing is particularly expensive — 127% higher than the national average, according to Payscale.
Based on the 2023-era data we compiled, however thin, it appears that Evanston was a solidly upper-middle-class city in 2003 just as it is today. It only makes the movie make more sense: Regina and her fellow mean girls would never make it in a lower-income environment, where the hustle and the struggle is strong.
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