Baltimore, MD vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Baltimore to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Chicago at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $99,324 in Chicago, IL (−$676).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($214 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $27,192 | +$4,164 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $5,215 | +$140 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,550 | −$135 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $2,208 | −$180 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,900 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $14,141 | +$2,557 |
| Total | $47,160 | $54,206 | +$7,046 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $57 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 15 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 40.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 38.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |