Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Boston-Cambridge-Newton to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 108.3 to 103.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $1,160/mo.
- -$6,702
- BLS median salary lower in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
- 309 to 277
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.9:1 to 13.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $8,314
- DOL infant care lower / 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
- + 5% lower cost of living
- + $1160/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $7K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 108.3 to 103.6 (ratio 0.96), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $1,160/mo ($13,920/yr) from $2,941 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton to $1,781 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin sits #329 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Boston-Cambridge-Newton is #218/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $6,702 lower ($83,802 → $77,100). Labor-market size: 2,639,240 tracked jobs at origin vs 4,480,500 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Illinois scores 58 (D, #31/51) vs Massachusetts at 45 (F, #48/51). 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
- 55
- Property tax
- 65
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 84
- 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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