Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

Moving from Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 103.6 to 98.1 (100 = US average), so a Chicago-Naperville-Elgin salary needs to be multiplied by 0.95 to hold the same purchasing power in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,781/month in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to $1,852/month in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos - a higher monthly bill of $71, or $852/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $77,100 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin versus $71,789 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos - a raw gap of $5,311 lower. The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos labor market has 1,265,270 tracked jobs against 4,480,500 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos are 277 and 395 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14:1 at origin versus 14.7:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $12,257/year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin versus $7,566/year in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.