Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Helena
- 95.7
Diff -7.9 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Helena
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Helena is 7.6% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
7.6% less expensive
Helena, MT is 7.6% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.7 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $92,355 in Helena; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 95.7 (Helena)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $92,355 purchasing power in Helena
- Rents drives the gap (-21.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:MT 103.6→95.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IL × MT
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Helena for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Helena | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,177 | $-3,823 |
| $75,000 | $69,266 | $-5,734 |
| $100,000 | $92,355 | $-7,645 |
| $150,000 | $138,532 | $-11,468 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Helena
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 95.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Helena, MT is 7.6% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.9-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is above 100 while Helena is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Helena 21.9 points lower than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 $92,355 in Helena.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
- Helena
- 96.0
Diff -11.3 RPP
Services
- Helena
- 72.6
Diff -10.9 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Helena
- 90.1
Diff -21.9 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Helena | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 95.7 | -7.9 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 96.0 | -11.3 |
| Services | 83.6 | 72.6 | -10.9 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 90.1 | -21.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Helena 95.7
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Helena 96.0
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Helena 72.6
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Helena 90.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Helena
95.7
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Helena share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 9.4 to 7.9 RPP points. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 25.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (47.3 to 21.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin RPP | Helena RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 96.0 | 9.4 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2012 | 105.1 | 92.0 | 13.2 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2016 | 103.8 | 95.6 | 8.2 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2020 | 104.5 | 92.0 | 12.5 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2024 | 103.6 | 95.7 | 7.9 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Helena more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Helena is 7.6% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 95.7 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Helena equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $92,355 in Helena. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Helena?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Helena is at 90.1 (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.