How Many Chicago City Blocks in a Mile?

Chicago is one of the most fascinating cities in America. It’s full of amazing attractions and has a very unique geography that leads to all sorts of intriguing questions. One of the most interesting is related to the way the city is configured.: How many Chicago city blocks in a mile? The answer is surprisingly simple: Chicago has eight city blocks per mile, and that precise arrangement is a key part of what makes it so special.

This arrangement is definitely worth exploring, especially if you’re looking for places to live in Chicago or its greater metropolitan area, so let’s dive right in and answer some basic questions.

Chicago’s Unique Grid System

While many residents realize that the Windy City’s grid system leans toward precision, not all of them realize that it was designed that way.

The grid system was planned so that each grid measures out at exactly one square mile, which is quite a feat given the way Chicago is tucked into the lower end of Lake Michigan on the western side.

Not only that, but the name of each block is precisely coordinated with its street location, which means that 39th Street, for instance, is exactly a mile south of 31st Street.

So how did this happen?

It’s an interesting story that’s well worth telling, because it dates back to 1909, when the City of Chicago decided to do something about the overwhelming number of residents who kept getting lost and throwing temper tantrums.

What they came up with is an amazingly effective grid that transformed the city from a maze to a metropolis that’s surprisingly easy to navigate.

All four directions—east, west, north and south—are accurately prefixed on street signs, depending on their relationship to the Chicago Loop, and there are exactly 800 addresses for each mile of streets.

This means you can get nearly anywhere in the city easily if you can do basic math. If you’re on 1200 North, for example, and you need to get to 5200 North, that means you’re 4000 addresses away from your destination. Divide by 800, and you get your final distance, which is exactly 5 miles.

Exploring Chicago Via the Grid

The fabulous precision of the grid also makes it wonderfully easy to explore Chicago neighborhoods. Rather than wander the streets aimlessly wondering where the heck you’re going, you can simply look up a neighborhood, scan the street numbers and do some actual planning that will go beyond GPS guesswork.

There are a few anomalies, of course, which makes sense given Chicago’s uneven geography. The south side will definitely throw some curves at you—for example, the initial mile south of Madison Avenue contains 12 rather than 8 blocks, which skews the 800 addresses per mile system a little.

Make sure you take that into account when you look up attractions, neighborhoods and streets, though, and generally speaking you should be fine.

The Real Estate Angle

Given that the grid makes the city easier to explore, it also makes it easier to get real estate info.

Want to live in a specific neighborhood? Grab a guide book, double-check the numbering system, and you’re off and running.

That m.o. works the same way if you’re looking to live anywhere in the greater Chicago area. If you want to be located in solid proximity to certain attractions or neighborhoods for work or play, the grid will help you get there and figure out where you want to live.

If you need more info, though, we’re more than happy to help out at theralphieandryanshow.com. We’re experts when it comes to Chicago area real estate, so we can definitely answer any questions you might have about the grid or any suburban location you may have in mind.