Cost comparison
Compare rent, housing, utilities, groceries, salary needs, and move score across the city profiles currently available in LifeAtlas.
Illinois
Elgin is a supplemental starter city profile for the Chicago-area commuter and family market in Illinois, useful for route coverage and starter comparisons around rent, housing, utilities, wages, benefits, insurance, and moving costs.
Illinois
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.
Comparison
Elgin has the lower salary-needed estimate, while Chicago has the lower starter rent. Differences are shown as Chicago minus Elgin.
| Metric | Elgin | Chicago | Difference | Advantage | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,822 | $1,740 | -$82 | Chicago | Chicago has the lower median rent. |
| Home price | $333,920 | $383,500 | +$49,580 | Elgin | Elgin has the lower home price. |
| Utilities | $190/mo | $179/mo | -$11/mo | Chicago | Chicago has the lower utilities. |
| Groceries index | 103 | 100 | -3 | Chicago | Chicago has the lower groceries index. |
| Salary needed | $68,138 | $78,660 | +$10,522 | Elgin | Elgin has the lower salary needed. |
| Move score | 77/100 | 78/100 | +1 | Chicago | Chicago has the higher move score. |