Chicago, IL vs Shreveport, LA
Moving from Chicago to Shreveport? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $186,193 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Shreveport 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 $85,320 in Shreveport, LA (−$14,680).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Shreveport, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 5,371 sqft in Shreveport ($208 vs $93 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Shreveport, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $16,176 | −$11,016 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $4,650 | −$565 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $4,475 | +$925 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,560 | −$648 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $3,500 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $8,765 | −$5,376 |
| Total | $54,206 | $39,126 | −$15,080 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Shreveport, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 87.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 7.50% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | -11.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $186,193 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $93 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,348 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.66% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $57 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 43 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.9 | 46.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 1.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |