Chicago, IL vs Rochester, NY
Moving from Chicago to Rochester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $285,034 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Rochester 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 $96,002 in Rochester, NY (−$3,998).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Rochester, NY: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 2,807 sqft in Rochester ($208 vs $178 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Rochester, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $19,164 | −$8,028 |
| 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 | $18,722 | +$4,581 |
| Total | $54,206 | $51,429 | −$2,777 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Rochester, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 98.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 5.01% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.60 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $285,034 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 4.7% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $178 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,597 |
| 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% | 2.76% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 21 |
| 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 | 35.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 102.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 51% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |