Overall
Diff -0.6 RPP
Kankakee vs Midland
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Midland is 0.6% less expensive than Kankakee.
0.6% less expensive
Midland, TX is 0.6% less expensive than Kankakee, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.8 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Kankakee buys about the same as $99,366 in Midland; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Kankakee) vs 95.8 (Midland)
- $100k in Kankakee ≈ $99,366 purchasing power in Midland
- Rents drives the gap (+8.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:TX 96.4→95.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IL × TX
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 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.
Kankakee
96.4
Cost Index
Midland
95.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Kankakee, IL and Midland, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Midland is 8.6 points higher. But rents and 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 remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
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 Kankakee corresponds to $99,366 in Midland.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +0.1 RPP
Services
Diff -6.2 RPP
Rents
Diff +8.6 RPP
| Category | Kankakee | Midland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 95.8 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 93.8 | +0.1 |
| Services | 89.4 | 83.2 | -6.2 |
| Rents | 92.9 | 101.5 | +8.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Kankakee 96.4
Midland 95.8
Goods
Kankakee 93.6
Midland 93.8
Services
Kankakee 89.4
Midland 83.2
Rents
Kankakee 92.9
Midland 101.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Kankakee would need to be in Midland for the same purchasing power:
| In Kankakee | In Midland | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,683 | $-317 |
| $75,000 | $74,525 | $-475 |
| $100,000 | $99,366 | $-634 |
| $150,000 | $149,049 | $-951 |
$ in Kankakee = in Midland
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 95.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Midland more expensive than Kankakee?
Midland is 0.6% less expensive than Kankakee. The overall cost index is 95.8 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Midland equals $100K in Kankakee?
A $100,000 salary in Kankakee has the same purchasing power as $99,366 in Midland. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Kankakee and Midland?
Rents in Kankakee are indexed at 92.9 while Midland is at 101.5 (national average = 100). Midland 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.