Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

Moving from Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 103.6 to 102.6 (100 = US average), so a Chicago-Naperville-Elgin salary needs to be multiplied by 0.99 to hold the same purchasing power in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,781/month in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to $1,810/month in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington - a higher monthly bill of $29, or $348/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 $74,260 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington - a raw gap of $2,840 lower. The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington labor market has 2,874,190 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington are 277 and 250 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14:1 at origin versus 13.6:1 at destination. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.