Chicago, IL vs Buffalo, NY
Moving from Chicago to Buffalo? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $288,316 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Buffalo 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 Chicago, IL, you'd need about $92,619 in Buffalo, NY (−$7,381).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Buffalo, NY: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 2,775 sqft in Buffalo ($208 vs $180 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Buffalo, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $17,328 | −$9,864 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $4,868 | −$347 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $3,895 | +$345 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $3,180 | +$972 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,600 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $18,192 | +$4,051 |
| Total | $54,206 | $49,063 | −$5,143 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Buffalo, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 94.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 5.10% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 2.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $288,316 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 4.8% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $180 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,444 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 2.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.45 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $98 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $57 | $87 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.9 | 40.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 95.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |