Overall
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
Diff -5.1 RPP
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Walla Walla
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Walla Walla is 4.9% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
4.9% less expensive
Walla Walla, WA is 4.9% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.5 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin buys about the same as $95,100 in Walla Walla; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin) vs 98.5 (Walla Walla)
- $100k in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ≈ $95,100 purchasing power in Walla Walla
- Rents drives the gap (-25.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:WA 103.6→98.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IL × WA
- 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
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
Diff -2.2 RPP
Services
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
Diff +10.7 RPP
Rents
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
Diff -25.4 RPP
| Category | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.6 | 98.5 | -5.1 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 105.0 | -2.2 |
| Services | 83.6 | 94.3 | +10.7 |
| Rents | 112.0 | 86.6 | -25.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Walla Walla 98.5
Goods
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Walla Walla 105.0
Services
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Walla Walla 94.3
Rents
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Walla Walla 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Walla Walla is 25.4 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Walla Walla, WA is 4.9% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.1-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is above 100 while Walla Walla 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 $95,100 in Walla Walla.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin would need to be in Walla Walla for the same purchasing power:
| In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | In Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,550 | $-2,450 |
| $75,000 | $71,325 | $-3,675 |
| $100,000 | $95,100 | $-4,900 |
| $150,000 | $142,650 | $-7,350 |
$ in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin = in Walla Walla
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 98.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walla Walla more expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Walla Walla is 4.9% less expensive than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. The overall cost index is 98.5 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Walla Walla equals $100K in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
A $100,000 salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has the same purchasing power as $95,100 in Walla Walla. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Walla Walla?
Rents in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are indexed at 112.0 while Walla Walla is at 86.6 (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.