RelocateMath
City cost of living 2026

Cost of living in Chicago, IL

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (9,406,924 people) ranks #31 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.

By Data reviewed Data: Census ACS, BEA, BLS, NOAA, IRS, FEMA (methodology)

New York, NY: price level 112.6Los Angeles, CA: price level 113.6Chicago, IL: price level 103.6Dallas, TX: price level 103.1Houston, TX: price level 98.6Miami, FL: price level 114.2Washington, D.C.: price level 108.9Atlanta, GA: price level 100.1Philadelphia, PA: price level 102.6Phoenix, AZ: price level 103.3Boston, MA: price level 108.3Riverside, CA: price level 106.4San Francisco, CA: price level 115.6Detroit, MI: price level 100.3Seattle, WA: price level 111.1Minneapolis, MN: price level 104.8Tampa, FL: price level 100.9San Diego, CA: price level 111.9Denver, CO: price level 105.8Orlando, FL: price level 101.4Charlotte, NC: price level 97.3Baltimore, MD: price level 104.5St. Louis, MO: price level 95.1San Antonio, TX: price level 94.7Austin, TX: price level 98.1Portland, OR: price level 105.4Sacramento, CA: price level 106.7Pittsburgh, PA: price level 94.7Las Vegas, NV: price level 100.2Cincinnati, OH: price level 95.4Kansas City, MO: price level 92.5Columbus, OH: price level 95.5Indianapolis, IN: price level 95.7Cleveland, OH: price level 93.9Nashville, TN: price level 96.3San Jose, CA: price level 110.4Virginia Beach, VA: price level 97.9Jacksonville, FL: price level 99.5Providence, RI: price level 101.8Milwaukee, WI: price level 96.9Raleigh, NC: price level 98.2Oklahoma City, OK: price level 90.4Louisville, KY: price level 93.1Richmond, VA: price level 97.9Memphis, TN: price level 92.2Salt Lake City, UT: price level 100.9Birmingham, AL: price level 91.6Fresno, CA: price level 102.2Grand Rapids, MI: price level 95.5Hartford, CT: price level 102.7Buffalo, NY: price level 95.8Tucson, AZ: price level 96.9Tulsa, OK: price level 89.2Rochester, NY: price level 97.0Omaha, NE: price level 91.9Honolulu, HI: price level 111.0Greenville, SC: price level 93.3Bridgeport, CT: price level 106.9New Orleans, LA: price level 92.6Knoxville, TN: price level 92.6Sarasota, FL: price level 102.4Albuquerque, NM: price level 95.5Bakersfield, CA: price level 100.9McAllen, TX: price level 85.9Albany, NY: price level 99.6Allentown, PA: price level 100.0Baton Rouge, LA: price level 90.8Worcester, MA: price level 102.5El Paso, TX: price level 89.9Columbia, SC: price level 93.7Charleston, SC: price level 101.0Cape Coral, FL: price level 102.3Lakeland, FL: price level 97.1Boise, ID: price level 98.4Oxnard, CA: price level 110.5Dayton, OH: price level 92.7Stockton, CA: price level 105.1Greensboro, NC: price level 92.9Colorado Springs, CO: price level 100.7Little Rock, AR: price level 89.4Provo, UT: price level 98.2Des Moines, IA: price level 91.7Daytona Beach, FL: price level 99.4Poughkeepsie, NY: price level 109.4Madison, WI: price level 97.3Winston-Salem, NC: price level 92.0Akron, OH: price level 93.4Ogden, UT: price level 100.3Wichita, KS: price level 88.9Palm Bay, FL: price level 100.0Syracuse, NY: price level 95.7Augusta, GA: price level 91.9Durham, NC: price level 97.6Harrisburg, PA: price level 98.7Jackson, MS: price level 89.0Fayetteville, AR: price level 91.4Spokane, WA: price level 100.3Toledo, OH: price level 91.5Chattanooga, TN: price level 91.5New Haven, CT: price level 104.6Reno, NV: price level 101.0Portland, ME: price level 101.9Port St. Lucie, FL: price level 100.2Huntsville, AL: price level 93.1Pensacola, FL: price level 97.7Lexington, KY: price level 92.9Killeen, TX: price level 91.1Springfield, MO: price level 88.6Santa Rosa, CA: price level 107.8Wilmington, NC: price level 96.4Fort Wayne, IN: price level 92.6Vallejo, CA: price level 108.5Santa Barbara, CA: price level 108.8Salinas, CA: price level 109.0Savannah, GA: price level 95.2Manchester, NH: price level 105.7Ocala, FL: price level 95.2Asheville, NC: price level 96.5Naples, FL: price level 103.2Myrtle Beach, SC: price level 93.6Anchorage, AK: price level 105.4Spartanburg, SC: price level 91.1Fayetteville, NC: price level 92.0Trenton, NJ: price level 103.2Eugene, OR: price level 101.6Fort Collins, CO: price level 101.1Ann Arbor, MI: price level 100.9Greeley, CO: price level 100.2Gainesville, FL: price level 96.7Clarksville, TN: price level 90.9Boulder, CO: price level 105.2Columbus, GA: price level 89.3Crestview, FL: price level 97.0Sioux Falls, SD: price level 90.6Olympia, WA: price level 103.7Norwich, CT: price level 100.4Bremerton, WA: price level 105.6Fargo, ND: price level 90.9Bend, OR: price level 103.6Daphne, AL: price level 94.7Prescott, AZ: price level 98.3Hilton Head Island, SC: price level 98.0Burlington, VT: price level 100.9Panama City, FL: price level 97.3Jacksonville, NC: price level 92.1Punta Gorda, FL: price level 100.5Billings, MT: price level 93.5The Villages, FL: price level 85.4Cheyenne, WY: price level 96.5

Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.

Price level of the 149 metros we cover
See all 149 cities

Price level, from cheaper to pricier.

Salary to match $75k
$83,800
vs. an average-priced, no-income-tax area
Median rent
$1,469
per month · need $58,760 income
Median home
$339,700
need about $105,125 to buy

Compare Chicago with your city

See what you'd need to earn in Chicago to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from New York, NY, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), at about its median household income. Pick your own city and salary.

Equal salary in Chicago: $85,400

Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities

To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $85,400 in Chicago, IL to match $100,000 in New York, NY ($14,600 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.

Single filer, W-2 salary. Uses New York and Illinois state income tax; includes New York City resident tax $3,441 (inside city limits).

Take-home in New York
$70,467
29.5% total tax
Take-home in Chicago
$74,375
25.6% total tax
Prices in Chicago
-8.0%
vs New York (BEA 2024)
Renting: change after selected costs
+$8,846
per year, after taxes, rent and power; excludes food, transport, healthcare, child care and moving costs

See the full New York to Chicago report

What things cost in Chicago

Price level by category (U.S. = 100)
Below the U.S. average Above the U.S. average At the U.S. average
Overall103.6
Housing112.0
Goods107.3
Utilities83.6
Other services100.5

The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.

Taxes in Chicago

On a $90,000 salary (about the area's median household income), a single filer keeps $67,835 after 2026 federal tax ($10,970), Social Security and Medicare ($6,885) and Illinois income tax ($4,310).

Housing

MeasureChicago area
Median rent$1,469/mo
Median home value$339,700
Median property tax$6,461/yr
Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down)$2,453
Median household income$90,770

Climate and jobs in Chicago

In the Chicago area the average January low is 19°F and the average July high 85°F, and the area has about 17 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 4.7% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $54,720 a year, 7% above the U.S. median.

Climate in the Chicago area: NOAA 1991–2020 normals
Climate1991–2020 average
January low19°F
July high85°F
Days 90°F or hotter17 a year
Precipitation38 in a year
Snowfall38 in a year
Jobs and pay in the Chicago area compared with the U.S. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Jobs and payMetro areaU.S.
Unemployment rate, 2025 average4.7%4.3%
Median wage, all jobs (May 2025)$54,720$50,980
Wage and salary jobs (May 2025)4.5 million155.5 million

Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport station (USW00094846). Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.

Retiring in Chicago

A single retiree spends about $3,501 a month here if they own their home outright, or $4,132 renting, based on typical spending for households 65 and older (BLS 2024) adjusted for local prices. See where your budget goes furthest.

Where people move to and from Chicago

Leaving Chicago for… (households)
New York4,600
Phoenix3,626
Dallas3,289
Los Angeles3,248
Milwaukee2,294
Miami2,294
Indianapolis2,181
Denver2,160
Moving to Chicago from… (households)
New York3,703
Los Angeles2,682
Phoenix2,054
Detroit1,966
Dallas1,909
Milwaukee1,849
Indianapolis1,817
Washington, D.C.1,635

IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.

Natural hazard risk

FEMA rates the Chicago area among the highest for natural hazard risk (score 97.1 of 100), with expected losses of about $443 per resident per year. Disaster risk by county in Illinois.

Highest relative risks (national percentile)
Higher risk than most U.S. counties
Cold wave99
Tornado99
Riverine flooding97
Heat wave95
Strong wind93

The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).

Frequently asked questions

What salary do you need to live in Chicago?

To match the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax, you need about $83,800 in Chicago. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $58,760, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $105,125.

Is Chicago expensive?

The Chicago metro area's price level is 103.6 (U.S. = 100), #31 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing price index is 112.0, 12% above the U.S. average.

Are people moving to Chicago?

Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Chicago had a net loss of about 13,436 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).

What is the weather like in Chicago?

In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Chicago area (Chicago O'Hare International Airport weather station), the average January low is 19°F and the average July high 85°F. The area has about 17 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 38 inches of precipitation a year and about 38 inches of snow.

What are jobs and pay like in Chicago?

The Chicago metro area's unemployment rate averaged 4.7% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $54,720 a year in May 2025, 7% above the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

What natural disasters affect Chicago?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the area among the highest overall (score 97.1). The highest relative risks are cold wave, tornado, riverine flooding.

Compare Chicago with other cities

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