Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.6 to 111.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $720/mo.
- +$15,450
- BLS median salary higher in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 277 to 329
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.4:1 to 17.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $3,730
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
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
- + $15K higher median salary
Cons of Moving
- - 8% higher cost of living
- - $720/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 103.6 to 111.1, so the same paycheck buys less in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (ratio 1.07). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $720/mo ($8,640/yr) from $1,781 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to $2,501 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue sits #324 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 $15,450 higher ($77,100 → $92,550). Labor-market size: 4,480,500 tracked jobs at origin vs 2,057,860 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Illinois scores 58 (D, #31/51) vs Washington at 38 (F, #51/51). 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
- 95
- Property tax
- 46
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 46
- Income tax
- 63
- Property tax
- 63
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 18
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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue to maintain the same purchasing power.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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