Greenville, SC vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Greenville to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($315,285 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Greenville 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 Greenville, SC, you'd need about $110,112 in Chicago, IL (+$10,112).
Livability — Greenville, SC: 67 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,173 sqft in Greenville vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($158 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Greenville, SC | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,528 | $27,192 | +$8,664 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $5,215 | +$418 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,550 | +$85 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $2,208 | +$360 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,900 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $10,173 | $14,141 | +$3,968 |
| Total | $40,811 | $54,206 | +$13,395 |
Side by side
| Metric | Greenville, SC | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.1 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.50% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.8% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $315,285 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.0% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,544 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.53% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 15 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |