Overall
- Waco
- 92.5
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 103.6
Diff +11.0 RPP
Waco vs Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 11.9% more expensive than Waco.
11.9% more expensive
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 11.9% more expensive than Waco, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.6 vs 92.5). A $100,000 salary in Waco buys about the same as $111,934 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.5 (Waco) vs 103.6 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin)
- $100k in Waco ≈ $111,934 purchasing power in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- Rents drives the gap (+28.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:IL 92.5→103.6
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE TX × IL
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Waco would need to be in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin for the same purchasing power:
| In Waco | In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $55,967 | +$5,967 |
| $75,000 | $83,951 | +$8,951 |
| $100,000 | $111,934 | +$11,934 |
| $150,000 | $167,901 | +$17,901 |
$ in Waco = in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.5 → 103.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Waco, TX and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 11.0 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 Waco 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 28.5 points higher than Waco. 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 Waco corresponds to $111,934 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waco
- 93.8
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 107.3
Diff +13.5 RPP
Services
- Waco
- 81.0
Diff +2.6 RPP
Rents
- Waco
- 83.5
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 112.0
Diff +28.5 RPP
| Category | Waco | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.5 | 103.6 | +11.0 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 107.3 | +13.5 |
| Services | 81.0 | 83.6 | +2.6 |
| Rents | 83.5 | 112.0 | +28.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Waco 92.5
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 103.6
Goods
Waco 93.8
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 107.3
Services
Waco 81.0
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 83.6
Rents
Waco 83.5
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 112.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Waco
92.5
Cost Index
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
103.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin more expensive than Waco?
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is 11.9% more expensive than Waco. The overall cost index is 103.6 vs 92.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin equals $100K in Waco?
A $100,000 salary in Waco has the same purchasing power as $111,934 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Waco and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
Rents in Waco are indexed at 83.5 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.