Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Jacksonville
- 99.5
Diff -4.1 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Jacksonville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Jacksonville is 4% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
4% less expensive
Jacksonville, FL is 4% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 99.5 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $96,032 in Jacksonville; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 99.5 (Jacksonville)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $96,032 purchasing power in Jacksonville
- Goods drives the gap (-11.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:FL 103.6→99.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IL × FL
- 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
- Jacksonville
- 96.2
Diff -11.0 RPP
Services
- Jacksonville
- 87.5
Diff +3.9 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Jacksonville
- 109.8
Diff -2.2 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Jacksonville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 99.5 | -4.1 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 96.2 | -11.0 |
| Services | 83.6 | 87.5 | +3.9 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 109.8 | -2.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Jacksonville 99.5
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Jacksonville 96.2
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Jacksonville 87.5
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Jacksonville 109.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Goods creates the largest separation: Jacksonville is 11.0 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Jacksonville, FL is 4% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 4.1-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is above 100 while Jacksonville 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $96,032 in Jacksonville as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, then replace the national basket with your own.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Jacksonville
99.5
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Jacksonville for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Jacksonville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,016 | $-1,984 |
| $75,000 | $72,024 | $-2,976 |
| $100,000 | $96,032 | $-3,968 |
| $150,000 | $144,047 | $-5,953 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Jacksonville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 99.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jacksonville more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Jacksonville is 4% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 99.5 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Jacksonville equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $96,032 in Jacksonville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Jacksonville?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Jacksonville is at 109.8 (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.