PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

40.1
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#323
of 387 metros
17%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Chicago ranks #323 of 387 US metros, ahead of 17% - carried by its wages (89/100) and held back most by cost of living (10/100).

89
strongest: Wages
64
then: Safety
10
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where Chicago sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

40 17th percentile higher than 17% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Chicago Life Score

Chicago's composite score of 40.1 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #323 of 387, ahead of 17% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (89/100) and Safety (64/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (10/100) and Rent (16/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 103.6 (rent-RPP 112.0). BLS median salary $77,100, 4,480,500 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,781/mo (studio $1,480).

FBI UCR (IL): 277 violent, 1665 property/100K. NCES: 14.0:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,257/yr. EPA: 56 Superfund sites (IL). Ranks #320-#326 below.

Dimension detail

How Chicago scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 10/100 (20%)
Wages 89/100 (20%)
Rent 16/100 (15%)
Safety 64/100 (15%)
Schools 37/100 (10%)
Childcare 28/100 (10%)
Environment 17/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

103.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$77,100
Avg Median Salary
$1,781
2BR Fair Market Rent
277
Violent Crime/100K (IL)
14.0:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$12,257
Infant Childcare/yr (IL)
56
Superfund Sites (IL)
4,480,500
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Chicago With...

Chicago vs Paducah Compare → Chicago vs Peoria Compare → Chicago vs Davenport Compare → Chicago vs Wildwood Compare → Chicago vs Waterloo Compare →

Ranking Context

Chicago outranks 17% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#320 Modesto, CA 40.2 C-
#321 Grants Pass, OR 40.3 C-
#322 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 40.5 C-
#323 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 40.1 C-
#324 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 40.0 C-
#325 Elmira, NY 39.9 C-
#326 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 39.8 C-

IL Metro Scores

Paducah, KY-IL A+ 70.0 Peoria, IL A 63.9 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL A 61.7 Decatur, IL B+ 58.7 Springfield, IL B+ 57.8 Rockford, IL B+ 57.1

Using Chicago's Life Score

Chicago is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (89/100) and its weakest is cost of living (10/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Chicago head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Chicago lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Chicago's biggest strengths? ▼
Chicago's strongest dimensions are Wages (89/100), Safety (64/100), Schools (37/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Chicago's weakest areas? ▼
Chicago's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (10/100), Rent (16/100), Environment (17/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Chicago compared to the national average? ▼
Chicago's Regional Price Parity is 103.6 (3.6% more than national); rent RPP 112.0.
What is the average salary in Chicago? ▼
Chicago median salary: $77,100, 4,480,500 jobs. Top: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Chicago's 40.1/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.