Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Traverse City
- 93.4
Diff -10.2 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Traverse City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Traverse City is 9.9% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
9.9% less expensive
Traverse City, MI is 9.9% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.4 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $90,132 in Traverse City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 93.4 (Traverse City)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $90,132 purchasing power in Traverse City
- Rents drives the gap (-33.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:MI 103.6→93.4
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE IL × MI
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
- Traverse City
- 93.7
Diff -13.5 RPP
Services
- Traverse City
- 92.4
Diff +8.8 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Traverse City
- 78.1
Diff -33.9 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Traverse City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 93.4 | -10.2 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 93.7 | -13.5 |
| Services | 83.6 | 92.4 | +8.8 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 78.1 | -33.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Traverse City 93.4
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Traverse City 93.7
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Traverse City 92.4
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Traverse City 78.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Traverse City is 33.9 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Traverse City, MI sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 10.2 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is above 100 while Traverse City is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin corresponds to $90,132 in Traverse City.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Traverse City
93.4
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Traverse City for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Traverse City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $45,066 | $-4,934 |
| $75,000 | $67,599 | $-7,401 |
| $100,000 | $90,132 | $-9,868 |
| $150,000 | $135,198 | $-14,802 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Traverse City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 93.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Traverse City share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 20.1 to 10.2 RPP points. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 17.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (9.1 to 8.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin RPP | Traverse City RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 85.3 | 20.1 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2012 | 105.1 | 91.7 | 13.4 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2016 | 103.8 | 89.7 | 14.1 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2020 | 104.5 | 90.4 | 14.1 points Chicago-Naperville-Elgin higher |
| 2024 | 103.6 | 93.4 | 10.2 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Traverse City more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Traverse City is 9.9% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 93.4 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Traverse City equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $90,132 in Traverse City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Traverse City?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Traverse City is at 78.1 (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.