Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Ithaca
- 103.3
Diff -0.3 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Ithaca
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Ithaca is 0.3% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
0.3% less expensive
Ithaca, NY is 0.3% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.3 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $99,732 in Ithaca; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 103.3 (Ithaca)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $99,732 purchasing power in Ithaca
- Services drives the gap (+48.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:NY 103.6→103.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IL × NY
- 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.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Ithaca
103.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Ithaca, NY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Ithaca is 48.1 points higher. But services and rents 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to $99,732 in Ithaca, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
- Ithaca
- 99.7
Diff -7.6 RPP
Services
- Ithaca
- 131.6
Diff +48.1 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Ithaca
- 128.4
Diff +16.4 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Ithaca | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 103.3 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 99.7 | -7.6 |
| Services | 83.6 | 131.6 | +48.1 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 128.4 | +16.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Ithaca 103.3
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Ithaca 99.7
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Ithaca 131.6
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Ithaca 128.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Ithaca for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Ithaca | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,866 | $-134 |
| $75,000 | $74,799 | $-201 |
| $100,000 | $99,732 | $-268 |
| $150,000 | $149,597 | $-403 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Ithaca
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 103.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ithaca more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Ithaca is 0.3% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 103.3 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Ithaca equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $99,732 in Ithaca. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Ithaca?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Ithaca is at 128.4 (national average = 100). Ithaca 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.