Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Columbus
- 95.5
Diff -8.1 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Columbus
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Columbus is 7.8% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
7.8% less expensive
Columbus, OH is 7.8% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.5 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $92,156 in Columbus; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 95.5 (Columbus)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $92,156 purchasing power in Columbus
- Rents drives the gap (-24.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:OH 103.6→95.5
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE IL × OH
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
- Columbus
- 93.6
Diff -13.6 RPP
Services
- Columbus
- 95.5
Diff +11.9 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Columbus
- 87.9
Diff -24.1 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Columbus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 95.5 | -8.1 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 93.6 | -13.6 |
| Services | 83.6 | 95.5 | +11.9 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 87.9 | -24.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Columbus 95.5
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Columbus 93.6
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Columbus 95.5
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Columbus 87.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Columbus is 24.1 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Columbus, OH sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 8.1 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is above 100 while Columbus is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin corresponds to $92,156 in Columbus.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Columbus
95.5
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Columbus for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Columbus | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,078 | $-3,922 |
| $75,000 | $69,117 | $-5,883 |
| $100,000 | $92,156 | $-7,844 |
| $150,000 | $138,234 | $-11,766 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Columbus
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 95.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Columbus more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Columbus is 7.8% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 95.5 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Columbus equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $92,156 in Columbus. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Columbus?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Columbus is at 87.9 (national average = 100). Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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.