Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos → Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.1 to 103.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $71/mo.
- +$5,311
- BLS median salary higher in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 395 to 277
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14.4:1 to 13.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,691
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + $71/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + $5K higher median salary
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 6% higher cost of living
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 98.1 to 103.6, so the same paycheck buys less in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (ratio 1.06). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $71/mo ($852/yr) from $1,852 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to $1,781 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin sits #329 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is #321/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,311 higher ($71,789 → $77,100). Labor-market size: 1,265,270 tracked jobs at origin vs 4,480,500 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Texas 65 (C, #19/51) vs Illinois 58 (D, #31/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
- Income tax
- 95
- Property tax
- 46
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 46
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to see what you'd need to earn in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to maintain the same purchasing power.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026