Chicago, IL vs Salem, OR
Moving from Chicago to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Salem 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 $99,974 in Salem, OR (−$26).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($208 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $19,536 | −$7,656 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $5,239 | +$24 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $3,680 | +$130 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,704 | −$504 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $900 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $13,135 | −$1,006 |
| Total | $54,206 | $44,194 | −$10,012 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $268 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $57 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.9 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |