Overall
- Dubuque
- 87.3
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
Diff +16.3 RPP
Dubuque vs Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 18.6% more expensive than Dubuque.
18.6% more expensive
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 18.6% more expensive than Dubuque, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.6 vs 87.3). A $100,000 salary in Dubuque buys about the same as $118,627 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.3 (Dubuque) vs 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin)
- $100k in Dubuque ≈ $118,627 purchasing power in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- Rents drives the gap (+48.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:IL 87.3→103.6
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE IA × IL
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dubuque would need to be in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin for the same purchasing power:
| In Dubuque | In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $59,314 | +$9,314 |
| $75,000 | $88,971 | +$13,971 |
| $100,000 | $118,627 | +$18,627 |
| $150,000 | $177,941 | +$27,941 |
$ in Dubuque = in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.3 → 103.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Dubuque, IA and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 16.3 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 Dubuque is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 48.0 points higher than Dubuque. 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 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 Dubuque corresponds to $118,627 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Dubuque
- 93.7
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
Diff +13.5 RPP
Services
- Dubuque
- 81.2
Diff +2.4 RPP
Rents
- Dubuque
- 64.0
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
Diff +48.0 RPP
| Category | Dubuque | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.3 | 103.6 | +16.3 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 107.3 | +13.5 |
| Services | 81.2 | 83.6 | +2.4 |
| Rents | 64.0 | 112.0 | +48.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dubuque 87.3
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Goods
Dubuque 93.7
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Services
Dubuque 81.2
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Rents
Dubuque 64.0
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin more expensive than Dubuque?
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 18.6% more expensive than Dubuque. The overall cost index is 103.6 vs 87.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin equals $100K in Dubuque?
A $100,000 salary in Dubuque has the same purchasing power as $118,627 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dubuque and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Rents in Dubuque are indexed at 64.0 while Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is at 112.0 (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.