Chicago, IL vs Tulsa, OK
Moving from Chicago to Tulsa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $253,725 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Tulsa 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 $87,714 in Tulsa, OK (−$12,286).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Tulsa, OK: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 3,745 sqft in Tulsa ($208 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Tulsa, OK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $16,224 | −$10,968 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $4,667 | −$548 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $3,575 | +$25 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,440 | −$768 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $4,400 | +$2,500 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $9,670 | −$4,471 |
| Total | $54,206 | $39,976 | −$14,231 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Tulsa, OK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 89.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 5.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 4.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 56 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.12 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $253,725 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $134 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,352 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 9.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 8.99% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 4.75% |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.94% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $4,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 94 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 27 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |