Cost comparison
Compare Cities
Compare rent, housing, utilities, groceries, salary needs, and move score across the city profiles currently available in LifeAtlas.
Chicago salary needed$78,660
Waukegan salary needed$61,324
Waukegan rent difference-$155
Waukegan score difference+3
Illinois
Chicago
Chicago is the large transit and job-market metro in Illinois, promoted in source-ready batch 01 for comparisons around housing, wages, transit, taxes, benefits, and moving costs.
- Median rent: $1,740
- Home price: $383,500
- Salary needed: $78,660
- Move score: 78/100
Illinois
Waukegan
Waukegan is a supplemental starter city profile for the lakefront and commuter affordability market in Illinois, useful for route coverage and starter comparisons around rent, housing, utilities, wages, benefits, insurance, and moving costs.
- Median rent: $1,585
- Home price: $239,865
- Salary needed: $61,324
- Move score: 81/100
Comparison
Chicago vs Waukegan
Waukegan has the lower salary-needed estimate, while Waukegan has the lower starter rent. Differences are shown as Waukegan minus Chicago.
| Metric | Chicago | Waukegan | Difference | Advantage | Why |
|---|
| Median rent | $1,740 | $1,585 | -$155 | Waukegan | Waukegan has the lower median rent. |
| Home price | $383,500 | $239,865 | -$143,635 | Waukegan | Waukegan has the lower home price. |
| Utilities | $179/mo | $196/mo | +$17/mo | Chicago | Chicago has the lower utilities. |
| Groceries index | 100 | 104 | +4 | Chicago | Chicago has the lower groceries index. |
| Salary needed | $78,660 | $61,324 | -$17,336 | Waukegan | Waukegan has the lower salary needed. |
| Move score | 78/100 | 81/100 | +3 | Waukegan | Waukegan has the higher move score. |