Louisville/Jefferson County, KY vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Louisville/Jefferson County to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Louisville/Jefferson County 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 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY, you'd need about $109,973 in Chicago, IL (+$9,973).
Livability — Louisville/Jefferson County, KY: 72 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in Louisville/Jefferson County vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($200 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $27,192 | +$9,192 |
| Groceries | $4,716 | $5,215 | +$500 |
| Transportation | $3,870 | $3,550 | −$320 |
| Utilities | $1,620 | $2,208 | +$588 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,900 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $7,922 | $14,141 | +$6,219 |
| Total | $38,328 | $54,206 | +$15,879 |
Side by side
| Metric | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.66% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.00% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.82% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.44% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $250 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.0 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 15 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |