Metro Life Score
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C-, 17th percentile of the national corpus.
- 41.9
- Life Score / 100
- C-
- Grade (curved)
- #320
- of 387 metros
- 17%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #320 of 387 (41.9/100, grade C-, 17th percentile). Carried by wages at 92/100; held back most by cost of living at 10/100.
- 17th
- composite percentile
- #320
- of 387 peers
- 10th
- cost dimension percentile
- 91st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature wages
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: pay power is the signature
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin stamps LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE with wages at the 91st percentile of the metro corpus (PEAK) — ahead of its cost mark (CEILING, 10th) and composite #320. Wages (92/100) amplifies the lead; Cost of Living (10/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN ranks #320 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #347 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
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).
Where Chicago-Naperville-Elgin sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
42 17th percentile higher than 17% of 387 US metros
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 · August 2026
Dimension detail
How Chicago-Naperville-Elgin scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Chicago-Naperville-Elgin With...
Ranking Context
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin outranks 17% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #317 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 42.0 | C- |
| #318 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | 42.1 | C- |
| #319 | Lancaster, PA | 42.1 | C- |
| #320 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 41.9 | C- |
| #321 | Greeley, CO | 41.8 | C- |
| #322 | Pittsfield, MA | 41.4 | C- |
| #323 | Cleveland, TN | 41.3 | C- |
IL Metro Scores
Read with Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Greeley, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 41.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Hanford-Corcoran, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 42.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Hinesville, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 42.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Lancaster, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 42.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Bellingham, WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 11/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Bend, OR (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 10/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.