Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 103.3
Diff -0.3 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is 0.3% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
0.3% less expensive
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 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 $99,731 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 103.3 (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $99,731 purchasing power in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- Goods drives the gap (-12.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:AZ 103.6→103.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IL × AZ
- 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
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
103.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 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.
Goods creates the largest separation: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is 12.2 points lower. 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $99,731 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
Diff -12.2 RPP
Services
Diff +9.8 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 121.2
Diff +9.2 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 103.3 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 95.0 | -12.2 |
| Services | 83.6 | 93.3 | +9.8 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 121.2 | +9.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 103.3
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 95.0
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 93.3
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 121.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.3 to 0.3 RPP points. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 19.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (10.3 to 9.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin RPP | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 105.7 | 0.3 points Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler higher |
| 2012 | 105.1 | 98.7 | 6.4 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2016 | 103.8 | 100.4 | 3.4 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2020 | 104.5 | 102.8 | 1.7 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2024 | 103.6 | 103.3 | 0.3 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,865 | $-135 |
| $75,000 | $74,798 | $-202 |
| $100,000 | $99,731 | $-269 |
| $150,000 | $149,596 | $-404 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $99,731 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is at 121.2 (national average = 100). Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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.