Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs New York-Newark-Jersey City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. New York-Newark-Jersey City is 8.7% more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ is 8.7% more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 112.6 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $108,657 in New York-Newark-Jersey City; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 112.6 (New York-Newark-Jersey City)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $108,657 purchasing power in New York-Newark-Jersey City
- Services drives the gap (+43.4 RPP points)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 9.0 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Services leads the difference, with New York-Newark-Jersey City 43.4 points higher 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 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 $108,657 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | New York-Newark-Jersey City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 112.6 | +9.0 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 110.3 | +3.0 |
| Services | 83.6 | 127.0 | +43.4 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 148.6 | +36.6 |
Visual Comparison
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in New York-Newark-Jersey City for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In New York-Newark-Jersey City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $54,328 | +$4,328 |
| $75,000 | $81,493 | +$6,493 |
| $100,000 | $108,657 | +$8,657 |
| $150,000 | $162,985 | +$12,985 |
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 112.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New York-Newark-Jersey City more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
New York-Newark-Jersey City is 8.7% more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 112.6 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $108,657 in New York-Newark-Jersey City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and New York-Newark-Jersey City?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while New York-Newark-Jersey City is at 148.6 (national average = 100). New York-Newark-Jersey City 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.