Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Santa Fe
- 98.8
Diff -4.8 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Santa Fe
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Santa Fe is 4.7% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
4.7% less expensive
Santa Fe, NM is 4.7% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.8 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $95,340 in Santa Fe; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 98.8 (Santa Fe)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $95,340 purchasing power in Santa Fe
- Goods drives the gap (-11.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:NM 103.6→98.8
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · GOODS-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IL × NM
- 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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Santa Fe, NM is 4.7% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 4.8-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is above 100 while Santa Fe is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Goods leads the difference, with Santa Fe 11.1 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 $95,340 in Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Santa Fe | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,670 | $-2,330 |
| $75,000 | $71,505 | $-3,495 |
| $100,000 | $95,340 | $-4,660 |
| $150,000 | $143,009 | $-6,991 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Santa Fe
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 98.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
- Santa Fe
- 96.1
Diff -11.1 RPP
Services
- Santa Fe
- 76.7
Diff -6.9 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Santa Fe
- 108.0
Diff -4.0 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Santa Fe | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 98.8 | -4.8 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 96.1 | -11.1 |
| Services | 83.6 | 76.7 | -6.9 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 108.0 | -4.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Santa Fe 98.8
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Santa Fe 96.1
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Santa Fe 76.7
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Santa Fe 108.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Santa Fe
98.8
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Santa Fe more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Santa Fe is 4.7% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 98.8 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Santa Fe equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $95,340 in Santa Fe. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Santa Fe?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Santa Fe is at 108.0 (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.