Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Winston-Salem
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to Winston-Salem is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.6 to 92.0 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $821/mo.
- -$13,182
- BLS median salary lower in Winston-Salem
- 277 to 365
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14:1 to 15.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $2,770
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Winston-Salem
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
- + 12% lower cost of living
- + $821/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $13K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 103.6 to 92.0, so each dollar covers more in Winston-Salem (ratio 0.89). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $821/mo ($9,852/yr) from $1,781 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to $960 in Winston-Salem.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Winston-Salem sits #82 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is #329/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $13,182 lower ($77,100 → $63,918). Labor-market size: 4,480,500 tracked jobs at origin vs 259,100 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: North Carolina scores 68 (C, #13/51) vs Illinois at 58 (D, #31/51). 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
- 68
- Property tax
- 66
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 30
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 Winston-Salem to maintain the same purchasing power.
Winston-Salem 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