PlainRelocate

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.6 to 113.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $820/mo.

+$5,176
BLS median salary higher in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
277 to 477
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
13.4:1 to 20.8:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$5,663
DOL infant care higher / yr in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim

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.

Verdict
Unfavorable
Cost Index: 103.6 → 113.6
Rent Delta: +$820/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + $5K higher median salary

Cons of Moving

  • - 10% higher cost of living
  • - $820/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
  • - Higher violent crime rate
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios
  • - More expensive childcare
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 103.6 to 113.6, so the same paycheck buys less in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (ratio 1.10). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $820/mo ($9,840/yr) from $1,781 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to $2,601 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin still leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim sits #383 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is #329/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,176 higher ($77,100 → $82,276). Labor-market size: 4,480,500 tracked jobs at origin vs 6,167,970 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Illinois scores 58 (D, #31/51) vs California at 40 (F, #50/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 103.6
RPP 113.6
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Rent (2BR)
$1,781/mo
$2,601/mo
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Wages
$77,100
$82,276
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Crime
277 per 100K
477 per 100K
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Schools
13.4:1
20.8:1
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Childcare
$12,257/yr
$17,920/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Environment
3029 violations
17705 violations
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Illinois
58 D #31/51
Income tax
95
Property tax
46
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
46
Destination state · California
40 F #50/51
Income tax
70
Property tax
72
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
4

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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to see what you'd need to earn in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
-
See the reverse: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Chicago-Naperville-Elgin

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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