Overall
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers
- 102.3
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
Diff +1.2 RPP
Cape Coral-Fort Myers vs Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 1.2% more expensive than Cape Coral-Fort Myers.
1.2% more expensive
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 1.2% more expensive than Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.6 vs 102.3). A $100,000 salary in Cape Coral-Fort Myers buys about the same as $101,217 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 102.3 (Cape Coral-Fort Myers) vs 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin)
- $100k in Cape Coral-Fort Myers ≈ $101,217 purchasing power in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- Rents drives the gap (-13.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:IL 102.3→103.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE FL × IL
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers
102.3
Cost Index
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 13.1 points lower. But rents and services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Cape Coral-Fort Myers corresponds to $101,217 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
Diff +11.0 RPP
Services
Diff -3.3 RPP
Rents
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers
- 125.1
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
Diff -13.1 RPP
| Category | Cape Coral-Fort Myers | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 102.3 | 103.6 | +1.2 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 107.3 | +11.0 |
| Services | 86.9 | 83.6 | -3.3 |
| Rents | 125.1 | 112.0 | -13.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 102.3
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Goods
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 96.2
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Services
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 86.9
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Rents
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 125.1
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Cape Coral-Fort Myers would need to be in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin for the same purchasing power:
| In Cape Coral-Fort Myers | In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,609 | +$609 |
| $75,000 | $75,913 | +$913 |
| $100,000 | $101,217 | +$1,217 |
| $150,000 | $151,826 | +$1,826 |
$ in Cape Coral-Fort Myers = in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (102.3 → 103.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin more expensive than Cape Coral-Fort Myers?
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 1.2% more expensive than Cape Coral-Fort Myers. The overall cost index is 103.6 vs 102.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin equals $100K in Cape Coral-Fort Myers?
A $100,000 salary in Cape Coral-Fort Myers has the same purchasing power as $101,217 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Cape Coral-Fort Myers and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Rents in Cape Coral-Fort Myers are indexed at 125.1 while Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is at 112.0 (national average = 100). Cape Coral-Fort Myers has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.