Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin vs Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 7.5% more expensive than Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 7.5% more expensive than Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.6 vs 96.3). A $100,000 salary in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin buys about the same as $107,533 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.3 (Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin) vs 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin)
- $100k in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin ≈ $107,533 purchasing power in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- Services drives the gap (+11.6 RPP points)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 7.5% more expensive than Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.3-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is above 100 while Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Services leads the difference, with Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 11.6 points higher than Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin to $107,533 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
| Category | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.3 | 103.6 | +7.3 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 107.3 | +11.0 |
| Services | 72.0 | 83.6 | +11.6 |
| Rents | 104.6 | 112.0 | +7.4 |
Visual Comparison
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin would need to be in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin for the same purchasing power:
| In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin | In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,766 | +$3,766 |
| $75,000 | $80,650 | +$5,650 |
| $100,000 | $107,533 | +$7,533 |
| $150,000 | $161,299 | +$11,299 |
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.3 → 103.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin more expensive than Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin?
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 7.5% more expensive than Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin. The overall cost index is 103.6 vs 96.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin equals $100K in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin?
A $100,000 salary in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin has the same purchasing power as $107,533 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Rents in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin are indexed at 104.6 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.