Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Midland
- 95.8
Diff -7.8 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Midland
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Midland is 7.5% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
7.5% less expensive
Midland, TX is 7.5% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.8 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $92,459 in Midland; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 95.8 (Midland)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $92,459 purchasing power in Midland
- Goods drives the gap (-13.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:TX 103.6→95.8
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · GOODS-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IL × TX
- GOODS-LED Goods-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.
How the Price Gap Changed
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Midland share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 8.9 to 7.8 RPP points. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 24.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (35.4 to 10.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin RPP | Midland RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 96.5 | 8.9 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2012 | 105.1 | 100.3 | 4.8 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2016 | 103.8 | 102.6 | 1.2 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2020 | 104.5 | 95.8 | 8.6 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2024 | 103.6 | 95.8 | 7.8 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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Midland, TX is 7.5% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.8-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is above 100 while Midland is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Goods leads the difference, with Midland 13.5 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $92,459 in Midland as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, then replace the national basket with your own.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Midland for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Midland | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,230 | $-3,770 |
| $75,000 | $69,344 | $-5,656 |
| $100,000 | $92,459 | $-7,541 |
| $150,000 | $138,689 | $-11,311 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Midland
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 95.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
- Midland
- 93.8
Diff -13.5 RPP
Services
- Midland
- 83.2
Diff -0.3 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Midland
- 101.5
Diff -10.5 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Midland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 95.8 | -7.8 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 93.8 | -13.5 |
| Services | 83.6 | 83.2 | -0.3 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 101.5 | -10.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Midland 95.8
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Midland 93.8
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Midland 83.2
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Midland 101.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Midland
95.8
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Midland more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Midland is 7.5% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 95.8 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Midland equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $92,459 in Midland. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Midland?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Midland is at 101.5 (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.