Chicago, IL vs Tallahassee, FL
Moving from Chicago to Tallahassee? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $285,256 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Tallahassee 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 $93,249 in Tallahassee, FL (−$6,751).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Tallahassee, FL: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 3,243 sqft in Tallahassee ($208 vs $154 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Tallahassee, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $18,360 | −$8,832 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $4,813 | −$402 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $4,800 | +$1,250 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,656 | −$552 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $4,200 | +$2,300 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $4,300 | −$9,841 |
| Total | $54,206 | $38,129 | −$16,077 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Tallahassee, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 95.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 5.40% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 2.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 56 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.44 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $285,256 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 0.5% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $154 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,530 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | None |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |