Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Joplin
- 85.7
Diff -17.9 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Joplin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Joplin is 17.3% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
17.3% less expensive
Joplin, MO-KS is 17.3% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.7 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $82,743 in Joplin; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 85.7 (Joplin)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $82,743 purchasing power in Joplin
- Rents drives the gap (-58.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:MO 103.6→85.7
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE IL × MO
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
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
- Joplin
- 94.2
Diff -13.1 RPP
Services
- Joplin
- 85.9
Diff +2.3 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Joplin
- 54.0
Diff -58.0 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Joplin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 85.7 | -17.9 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 94.2 | -13.1 |
| Services | 83.6 | 85.9 | +2.3 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 54.0 | -58.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Joplin 85.7
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Joplin 94.2
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Joplin 85.9
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Joplin 54.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Joplin is 58.0 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 Joplin, MO-KS sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 17.9 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 Joplin 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 $82,743 in Joplin.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Joplin
85.7
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Joplin for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Joplin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $41,372 | $-8,628 |
| $75,000 | $62,058 | $-12,942 |
| $100,000 | $82,743 | $-17,257 |
| $150,000 | $124,115 | $-25,885 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Joplin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 85.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Joplin more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Joplin is 17.3% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 85.7 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Joplin equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $82,743 in Joplin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Joplin?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Joplin is at 54.0 (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.