ORDAirport Guide

Short-term parking at O'Hare: the hourly rates

Main Garage Level 1 charges $3 for the first hour and $79 for 8 to 24 hours. The daily levels charge $43 for that band. Rates, payment and clearances.

The stacked concrete decks and red railings of the Main Garage at O'Hare, where hourly and daily parking apply.
Main Garage, O'Hare

Short-term parking at O’Hare is Level 1 of the Main Garage, next to the domestic terminals, and it’s meant for stays under three hours. It starts at $3 for the first hour. Terminal 5’s garage charges the same rates up to 8 hours, then $43 for 8 to 24 hours.

What each stay costs

How long you stay Level 1, hourly Main Garage Levels 2 to 6, Lots B and C, Terminal 5 garage
Up to 1 hour $3 $3
1 to 2 hours $6 $6
2 to 3 hours $10 $10
3 to 4 hours $14 $14
4 to 8 hours $36 $36
8 to 24 hours $79 $43

Every rate includes taxes. The two columns match until the 8-hour mark, so a six-hour stay costs the same on Level 1 as on the daily levels or in Lots B and C. The gap opens only after that, and the airport’s page stops at 24 hours and doesn’t say what comes next.

If you’re only meeting a flight, wait for your passenger’s call in the free cell phone lot. The other short-stay option is the Kiss ‘n’ Fly at the northeast corner of the Multi-Modal Facility, off the terminal roadways. Parking there is limited to 15 minutes, and your passenger rides the Airport Transit System from Terminal 1, 2, 3 or 5 to meet you.

If your stay runs past a few hours

The airport says the Main Garage is a poor choice for extended overnight stays, because its daily rates run higher than the economy lots.

Lot Rates How you get to the terminal
Economy Lot F The same steps as above up to 4 hours, then $30 for 4 to 24 hours Airport Transit System
Economy Lots G and H $3 up to 1 hour, then $16 for anything from 1 to 24 hours Shuttle to the Multi-Modal Facility, then the Airport Transit System

That flat $16 means a two-hour stay in Lot G or H costs more than the $6 near the terminal. You won’t save anything there until you’re past about four hours.

How to pay and what to watch for

  • You’ll pay the cashier on the way out. The cashier takes cash and credit cards. The airport’s pages disagree on whether Lot H takes cash, so bring a card.
  • Aisle 2, near Elevator Center 3, has 12 Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations. They are on Level 1.
  • The Main Garage clears 6 feet 6 inches. Lot B clears 9 feet and Lot C 8 feet 5 inches, which is what the airport suggests for a taller vehicle that still needs to park near the terminals. The Terminal 5 garage clears 8 feet 6 inches.
  • Level 1 has 17 accessible spaces, beside the elevator centers.
  • Chicago’s boot program is enforced in O’Hare’s lots. The Parking Garage Office at (773) 686-7530 handles booted vehicles, vehicle assistance, accessible parking details and stays over 30 days.

The airport’s own parking page has a real-time status module. Every other garage and lot, with its published rate, is in our Parking section.

Sources