New City · Cook County · IL
Homes for sale in
New City.
- Active listings
- 14
- Median list
- $193K
- Avg time on market
- 31 days
- Sold · last year
- 86
Active listings
14 homes on the market
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About the community
Living in New City.
New City is Chicago's official community area number 61, sitting on the near Southwest Side and made up of two distinct neighborhoods, Back of the Yards and Canaryville. Its boundaries run from Pershing Road on the north to Garfield Boulevard on the south, with rail corridors framing the east and west, and it is home to roughly 41,800 residents. This is the land of the legendary Union Stock Yards, which operated here from 1865 until 1971 and once made Chicago the meatpacking capital of the world, immortalized in Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle. The housing stock reflects that working-class heritage, with affordable brick bungalows, workers cottages, and two-flats lining quiet residential blocks first built for the European immigrant families who staffed the yards. Today the area is predominantly Mexican-American and Latino, and the 47th Street corridor hums with taquerias, bakeries, and family-owned shops that give Back of the Yards its lively daily rhythm. Getting around is easy on foot and by bus, with a Walk Score of 71 and a Transit Score of 61, plus CTA bus routes feeding toward the Orange and Red Lines and the nearby Stevenson Expressway for drivers. Canaryville, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, carries a proud Irish and Mexican identity and centers on Halsted Street. For buyers, the headline is value, since with a recent median sale price around 229,000 dollars, New City is one of the most attainable entry points into Chicago homeownership.
At a glance
Community Area 61
New City is Chicago community area number 61 on the South Side, home to about 41,800 residents.
Affordable historic housing
The neighborhood is built largely of brick bungalows, workers cottages, and two-flats first raised for immigrant stockyard families.
Walk Score of 71
Back of the Yards scores 71 for walkability, meaning most errands can be accomplished on foot.
Transit Score of 61
The area earns a Transit Score of 61, with good public transportation via CTA bus routes connecting to the Orange and Red Lines.
Union Stock Yards legacy
The famous Union Stock Yards operated here from 1865 until 1971, and the 1879 Union Stock Yard Gate is now a National Historic Landmark.
Median price near 229K
New City homes recently sold at a median price of about 229,000 dollars, up more than 15 percent year over year.
Olmsted-designed Sherman Park
Sixty-acre Sherman Park, designed by the Olmsted Brothers and Daniel Burnham and opened in 1905, anchors the neighborhood's green space.
Back of the Yards and Canaryville
New City contains two neighborhoods, the largely Mexican-American Back of the Yards and the historically Irish and Mexican Canaryville.
What it’s actually like to live here
Daily life in New City revolves around affordability and family blocks, with bungalows, cottages, and two-flats that remain among the most attainable in Chicago and a recent median sale price near 229,000 dollars. The neighborhood's commercial heart is 47th Street, an active corridor, especially between Damen and Ashland, that serves the largely Hispanic community with taquerias, supermercados, and a wave of newer spots. Grano Cafe y Pan, a modern Mexican bakery and coffee shop that opened in 2024 at 1845 West 47th Street, reflects the neighborhood's creative energy, while longtime taquerias keep the everyday Mexican food culture strong. This is a place where you can walk to a couple of restaurants, bars, or coffee shops within five minutes.
Green space is a genuine asset here, anchored by sixty-acre Sherman Park, designed by landscape architects John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. with architect Daniel Burnham and opened in 1905, featuring a meandering waterway around an island of ballfields. The neighborhood also enjoys Davis Square Park and Cornell Square Park, two of the innovative South Side parks that opened in the early 1900s to bring recreation and social services to congested working-class districts, each offering gyms, pools, athletic fields, and playgrounds. Commuting is straightforward, with CTA bus routes connecting to the Orange and Red Lines and the Stevenson Expressway running near the neighborhood for quick car access downtown and to the western suburbs. Catholic churches built by generations of immigrant parishioners still mark the skyline, a reminder of the deep community roots that organizers like Alinsky once tapped.
Around town
What there is to do in New City.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Sherman Park
This sixty-acre park designed by the Olmsted Brothers and Daniel Burnham opened in 1905 and features a meandering lagoon wrapping an island of ballfields.
- Culture
Union Stock Yard Gate
The 1879 limestone gate designed by Burnham and Root is the last surviving structure of the Union Stock Yards and is now a National Historic Landmark.
- Family
Davis Square Park
This Back of the Yards park offers two gyms, a fitness and boxing center, an outdoor pool, and a playground with a water spray feature.
- Sports
Cornell Square Park
Created in 1904 as part of the revolutionary neighborhood park system, this park includes baseball and soccer fields, basketball courts, and an outdoor swimming pool.
- Food & Drink
Grano Cafe y Pan
This family-run bakery and coffee shop at 1845 West 47th Street opened in 2024 as a modern take on the traditional Mexican bakery and a neighborhood gathering spot.
- Culture
Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council
Founded by Saul Alinsky in 1939, this is one of the oldest community organizations in the United States and remains a civic anchor of the neighborhood.
By the numbers
New City taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Median sold price
$245,000
MRED · last 12 mo (86 sales)
How New City got here
A bit of history.
New City's identity was forged by the Union Stock Yards, the meatpacking district that opened on Christmas Day 1865 and operated until July 30, 1971, drawing thousands of European immigrants, predominantly Lithuanian, Bohemian, Moravian, and Slovak, to live in the dense blocks back of the yards. From the Civil War through the 1920s, more meat was processed in Chicago than anywhere else on earth, which is why Carl Sandburg called the city hog butcher for the world. The brutal labor and sanitary conditions of this era were exposed in Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle, a public uproar that helped spur the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. The neo-gothic Union Stock Yard Gate, designed by Daniel Burnham and John W. Root and built in 1879, survives today as a National Historic Landmark and the area's most recognizable relic.
In 1939, activist Saul Alinsky and local park director Joseph Meegan organized the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, the project where Alinsky first developed his method of community organizing by uniting Catholic churches, business, and labor across national lines. That work led him to found the Industrial Areas Foundation in 1940, and the council endures today as one of the oldest community organizations in the United States. Urbanist Jane Jacobs later cited Back of the Yards in her 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities as a model neighborhood able to rebuild itself through a stable, skilled, and well-organized community base. After the stockyards closed in 1971 and nearby jobs disappeared, the population gradually shifted to a predominantly Mexican-American community, the identity it carries today.
The questions buyers actually ask
New City FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping New City. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- Is New City an affordable place to buy a home in Chicago?
- Yes. New City is one of the most attainable parts of the city, with a recent median sale price of about 229,000 dollars, up more than 15 percent from a year earlier, and a median of roughly 150 dollars per square foot.
- What neighborhoods make up New City?
- New City, community area number 61, contains two neighborhoods: Back of the Yards, which is largely Mexican-American today, and Canaryville, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Chicago and historically Irish, now both Irish and Mexican.
- What kinds of homes are available here?
- The housing stock is mostly affordable brick bungalows, workers cottages, and two-flats originally built for the immigrant families who worked the stockyards, which makes the area attractive for owner-occupants and investors alike.
- How do I find out which Chicago public school a home is assigned to?
- Chicago Public Schools assigns neighborhood schools by home address, and you can confirm the exact attendance boundary using the official CPS School Locator tool before you make an offer.
- How is the commute downtown?
- It is manageable. New City has a Transit Score of 61 with CTA bus routes connecting to the Orange and Red Lines, and the Stevenson Expressway runs near the neighborhood for drivers heading to the Loop.
- If I buy a two-flat or small multi-unit and later convert it, what governs that in Illinois?
- Two-flats and small multi-unit buildings are common here, and any conversion of a building into separately owned condominium units in Illinois is governed by the Illinois Condominium Property Act, so consult that statute and a local attorney before converting or renting out units.
- Who is the real estate agent for New City?
- Joe Keegan is the local licensed Illinois real estate broker who covers New City in New City, IL through Subdiview, a neighborhood-first home search for the Chicago suburbs and collar counties. Joe prices and negotiates from the live MRED sold comps for New City specifically, not national averages, and can help you buy or sell here. Reach Joe at 224-385-8779 or joe@joekeeganhomes.com.
Nearby
Neighborhoods near New City.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the neighborhoods right next to New City.
Your local agent
Joe knows New City
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- New City specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
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