Merced, CA vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Merced to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($419,171 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Merced 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 Merced, CA, you'd need about $102,879 in Chicago, IL (+$2,879).
Livability — Merced, CA: 57 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,790 sqft in Merced vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($279 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Merced, CA | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,700 | $27,192 | +$3,492 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $5,215 | −$31 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,550 | −$1,575 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $2,208 | −$1,596 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,900 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $18,715 | $14,141 | −$4,574 |
| Total | $58,091 | $54,206 | −$3,884 |
Side by side
| Metric | Merced, CA | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.6 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 10.70% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $419,171 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $279 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,975 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.68% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $138 | $57 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 15 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 13.5 | 40.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 38.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 75% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |