# Cost of living in Chicago, United States

> Big-city amenities and a real subway at roughly half New York rents — the trade is a genuinely cold winter.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/chicago
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 53% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** USD
- **Region:** North America
- **Cost index:** 66 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $4,234 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $5,872 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $12,034 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $2,228 | derived | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $98 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $65 | estimated | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $58 | estimated | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $470 | estimated | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $120 | estimated | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $90 | estimated | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $60 | estimated | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $48 | estimated | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $75 | estimated | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $79 | estimated | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Health insurance (compulsory) | $490 | estimated | Cover is not optional in United States; children priced at 50% |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $35 | estimated | 0.15 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $55 | estimated | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $15 | estimated | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $100 | estimated | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $149 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$4,234** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in United States:

- Income tax: $17,619
- Employee social contributions: $7,650
- Take-home: $74,731/year ($6,228/month)
- Effective rate: 25.3%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $1,993/month

Average local net salary: $4,400/month, which covers 1.0x the one-adult budget.

- Illinois income tax applied at 4.95%.
- Federal single-filer brackets with the standard deduction.
- State and city income taxes are applied as a flat approximation of the local effective rate.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 52 |
| Healthcare | 84 |
| Air quality | 62 |
| Public transport | 78 |
| Walkability | 80 |
| English proficiency | 100 |
| Family friendliness | 66 |
| Nightlife | 88 |
| Median broadband | 210 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 10°C; summer highs 29°C; winter lows -8°C; 2500 sunshine hours and 990 mm of rain a year. Climate type: continental.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: -3.1, -0.1, 4.6, 9.8, 14.5, 21.3, 23.1, 22.5, 19.9, 13.9, 6.3, 0.2.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 78, 44, 93, 87, 72, 86, 194, 75, 92, 78, 68, 67.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: no
- No remote-work visa. Employment-based routes (H-1B, L-1, O-1) or a green card are the usual paths.
- Coast: 15 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: America/Chicago
- Metro population: 9.3 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 53% derived, 47% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) (https://www.zillow.com/research/data/), as of 2026-07-31

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/chicago
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/chicago
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities