What is the cost of living in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 103.6, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 112.0, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,781/month.

What is the median salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?

The median salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is $77,100 annually (mean: $81,060). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

How safe is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?

The violent crime rate in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is 277 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1665 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?

The state of IL has 3,845 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?

Infant center-based childcare in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area averages $12,257 per year. Preschool averages $9,481/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin a good place to relocate?

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has a Life Score of 41.5/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Chicago-Naperville-Elgin sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ranks #329 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

BEA RPP 103.6 ranks #347 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

103.6
Cost index (US=100): $1,781
2BR rent / mo: $77,100
Median salary: 39.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ranks #329 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (39.4/100), with its strongest marks in job market and safety.

#329
of 387 US metros · Below median: 12,710,158
metro-area population: 277
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,845
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (6/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ranks #329 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 103.6 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,781/mo, median salary $77,100; LiveAbility Score 39.4/100, strongest in job market and safety.

Signature: BEA RPP 103.6 ranks #347 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 103.6 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,781/mo.

LiveAbility 39.4/100 puts Chicago-Naperville-Elgin in the bottom third (#329 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area is 4,480,500.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

39 Top 85% higher than 15% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin MSA; housing RPP 112.0 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,781/mo.

Studio

$1,480

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,581

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,781

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,294

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,653

/month

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin wages and employment

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin posts 4,480,500 total employment with median salary $77,100 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$77,100

Mean Salary

$81,060

Total Employment

4,480,500

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$40,550
General and Operations Managers	$109,390
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$38,180
Registered Nurses	$100,490
Cashiers	$35,010

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area from NCES.

Schools

3,845

Enrollment

1,844,783

Student:Teacher

14:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$12,257

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,556

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,481

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin's composite Life Score is 41.5/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

10/100

Bottom decile

Wages

89/100

Elite

Rent

16/100

Bottom decile

Crime

64/100

Above average

Schools

37/100

Below average

Childcare

28/100

Weak

Environment

31/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ranks #329 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 39.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (89/100)

Job market

89
Safety

64
Schools

63
Climate

39
Low hazard

27
Housing

16
Cost of living

10
Air quality

6

What this shows Chicago-Naperville-Elgin's strongest dimensions are job market and safety; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 6/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to

Wichita Wildwood-The Villages Williamsport Wilmington Winchester Winston-Salem

Metros near Chicago-Naperville-Elgin on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Chicago-Naperville-Elgin wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin runs a $77,100 median salary at a 103.6 cost index, ranking #329 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Chicago-Naperville-Elgin's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Chicago-Naperville-Elgin head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.