Chicago, IL vs Reno, NV
Moving from Chicago to Reno? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $570,546 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Reno 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 $95,647 in Reno, NV (−$4,353).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Reno, NV: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 1,665 sqft in Reno ($208 vs $300 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Reno, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $23,736 | −$3,456 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $4,841 | −$374 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $4,740 | +$1,190 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,548 | −$660 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,300 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $5,060 | −$9,081 |
| Total | $54,206 | $41,225 | −$12,981 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Reno, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 98.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 5.01% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 9.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.58 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $570,546 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $300 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,978 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | None |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 4.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $48 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $57 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $89 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.9 | 7.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 22.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 82% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |
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