Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Stockton-Lodi
- 105.1
Diff +1.5 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Stockton-Lodi
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Stockton-Lodi is 1.4% more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
1.4% more expensive
Stockton-Lodi, CA is 1.4% more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 105.1 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $101,442 in Stockton-Lodi; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 105.1 (Stockton-Lodi)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $101,442 purchasing power in Stockton-Lodi
- Services drives the gap (+74.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:CA 103.6→105.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IL × CA
- 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
Stockton-Lodi
105.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Stockton-Lodi, CA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Stockton-Lodi is 74.7 points higher. But goods 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 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 $101,442 in Stockton-Lodi, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
- Stockton-Lodi
- 105.2
Diff -2.1 RPP
Services
- Stockton-Lodi
- 158.2
Diff +74.7 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Stockton-Lodi
- 115.6
Diff +3.6 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Stockton-Lodi | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 105.1 | +1.5 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 105.2 | -2.1 |
| Services | 83.6 | 158.2 | +74.7 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 115.6 | +3.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Stockton-Lodi 105.1
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Stockton-Lodi 105.2
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Stockton-Lodi 158.2
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Stockton-Lodi 115.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Stockton-Lodi share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 5.2 to 1.5 RPP points. Stockton-Lodi remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 70.6 points between the first and latest shared releases (4.1 to 74.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin RPP | Stockton-Lodi RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 100.2 | 5.2 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2012 | 105.1 | 103.8 | 1.3 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2016 | 103.8 | 99.9 | 3.9 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2020 | 104.5 | 105.3 | 0.8 points Stockton-Lodi higher |
| 2024 | 103.6 | 105.1 | 1.5 points Stockton-Lodi 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 Stockton-Lodi for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Stockton-Lodi | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,721 | +$721 |
| $75,000 | $76,082 | +$1,082 |
| $100,000 | $101,442 | +$1,442 |
| $150,000 | $152,163 | +$2,163 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Stockton-Lodi
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 105.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Stockton-Lodi more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Stockton-Lodi is 1.4% more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 105.1 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Stockton-Lodi equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $101,442 in Stockton-Lodi. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Stockton-Lodi?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Stockton-Lodi is at 115.6 (national average = 100). Stockton-Lodi 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.