Overall
- New Haven
- 104.6
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
Diff -1.0 RPP
New Haven vs Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 0.9% less expensive than New Haven.
0.9% less expensive
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 0.9% less expensive than New Haven, CT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.6 vs 104.6). A $100,000 salary in New Haven buys about the same as $99,078 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 104.6 (New Haven) vs 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin)
- $100k in New Haven ≈ $99,078 purchasing power in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- Services drives the gap (-61.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CT:IL 104.6→103.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CT × IL
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
New Haven
104.6
Cost Index
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
New Haven, CT and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 61.3 points lower. But 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 New Haven to $99,078 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- New Haven
- 97.3
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
Diff +9.9 RPP
Services
- New Haven
- 144.8
Diff -61.3 RPP
Rents
- New Haven
- 124.3
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
Diff -12.3 RPP
| Category | New Haven | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 104.6 | 103.6 | -1.0 |
| Goods | 97.3 | 107.3 | +9.9 |
| Services | 144.8 | 83.6 | -61.3 |
| Rents | 124.3 | 112.0 | -12.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
New Haven 104.6
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Goods
New Haven 97.3
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Services
New Haven 144.8
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Rents
New Haven 124.3
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in New Haven would need to be in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin for the same purchasing power:
| In New Haven | In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,539 | $-461 |
| $75,000 | $74,309 | $-691 |
| $100,000 | $99,078 | $-922 |
| $150,000 | $148,617 | $-1,383 |
$ in New Haven = in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (104.6 → 103.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin more expensive than New Haven?
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 0.9% less expensive than New Haven. The overall cost index is 103.6 vs 104.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin equals $100K in New Haven?
A $100,000 salary in New Haven has the same purchasing power as $99,078 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between New Haven and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Rents in New Haven are indexed at 124.3 while Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is at 112.0 (national average = 100). New Haven 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.