Salem, OR vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Salem to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $100,026 in Chicago, IL (+$26).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($268 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $27,192 | +$7,656 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $5,215 | −$24 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,550 | −$130 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $2,208 | +$504 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,900 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $14,141 | +$1,006 |
| Total | $44,194 | $54,206 | +$10,012 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $57 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 15 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 40.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 38.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |