Evansville, IN vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Evansville to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($226,753 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Evansville vs Chicago 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 Evansville, IN, you'd need about $113,876 in Chicago, IL (+$13,876).
Livability — Evansville, IN: 73 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,191 sqft in Evansville vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($119 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Evansville, IN | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,044 | $27,192 | +$14,148 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $5,215 | +$475 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $3,550 | +$300 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $2,208 | +$276 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,900 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $6,885 | $14,141 | +$7,256 |
| Total | $31,451 | $54,206 | +$22,755 |
Side by side
| Metric | Evansville, IN | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 90.0 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.14% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 46 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.12 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $226,753 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.8% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $119 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,087 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 15 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |