Boston, MA vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Boston to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Boston 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 Boston, MA, you'd need about $92,837 in Chicago, IL (−$7,163).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($436 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $27,192 | −$11,340 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $5,215 | +$176 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,550 | +$340 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $2,208 | −$972 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,900 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $14,141 | −$3,552 |
| Total | $69,455 | $54,206 | −$15,249 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $208 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $57 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 15 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 40.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 38.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |