✦ Compare
Atlanta vs
Chicago
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Atlanta, GA vs Chicago, IL at a glance — Chicago, IL is 2% more expensive than Atlanta, GA overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $1,900/mo versus $1,650/mo. The top national income-tax rate is 37%.
To keep the same standard of living in Chicago, IL, you'd need
$76,307 / year
Chicago, IL is 2% more expensive overall
Category breakdown (Chicago, IL vs Atlanta, GA)
- Housing+4%
- Food & groceries0%
- Transport+3%
- Utilities-3%
- Healthcare+2%
- Goods & services+1%
◎ How Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Atlanta, GA | Chicago, IL | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 101 | 103 |
| Housing | 112 | 116 |
| Food | 95 | 95 |
| Transport | 98 | 101 |
| Utilities | 93 | 90 |
| Healthcare | 96 | 98 |
| Goods & services | 97 | 98 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,650/mo | $1,900/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,300/mo | $1,450/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $3,000/mo | $3,600/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $4,200 | $5,500 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $990 | $973 |
| Inexpensive meal | $17 | $18 |
| Monthly transit pass | $95 | $105 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 37% | 37% |
| VAT / sales tax | 0% | 0% |
| Social security (employee) | 7.7% | 7.7% |
| Corporate tax | 21% | 21% |
| Capital gains | 20% | 20% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $4,300/mo | $4,300/mo |
| Minimum wage | $1,257/mo✓ | $1,257/mo✓ |
| GDP per capita | $90,027✓ | $90,027✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | No | No |
| English proficiency | Native | Native |
| Coworking spaces | 55 | 90 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 | UTC-6 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 60 | 66 |
| Safety index | 48 | 48 |
| Healthcare index | 78 | 80 |
| Pollution index | 45 | 45 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 200 Mbps |
| Walkability | 48 | 78 |
| Public transport | 48 | 78 |
| Family-friendly | 62 | 60 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Health insurance | $450/mo | $450/mo |
| Life expectancy | 79 yr✓ | 79 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +7 °C | -4 °C |
| July avg | +27 °C | +24 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 217 | 189 |
| Rainfall / year | 1,270 mm | 950 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 1 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: United States vs United States. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (US DOL (federal), World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Atlanta vs Chicago — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Atlanta
The South's business and culture capital — green, affordable and fast-growing, if car-bound.
- Currency
- US dollar ($ USD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC-5
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 48/100
- Climate
- ❄ 7°C · ☀ 27°C · 217 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Midtown · Old Fourth Ward · Buckhead
Good to know before you move to Chicago
Big-city amenities and architecture at Midwest prices — the winters, though, are famously brutal.
- Currency
- US dollar ($ USD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC-6
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 48/100
- Climate
- ❄ -4°C · ☀ 24°C · 189 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Loop · Wicker Park · Lincoln Park
Plan your move to Atlanta
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
Plan your move to Chicago
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Atlanta to Chicago: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Atlanta to Chicago, your cost of living will be roughly 2% more expensive. Chicago’s cost-of-living index is 103 versus 101 for Atlanta (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Atlanta cheaper than Chicago?
Chicago is about 2% more expensive than Atlanta overall — its cost-of-living index is 103 versus 101 for Atlanta.
Which is more expensive, Atlanta or Chicago?
Chicago is more expensive than Atlanta. Its cost-of-living index is 103 vs 101 (US = 100) — about 2% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Atlanta or Chicago?
Rent is cheaper in Atlanta — about $1,650/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $1,900 in Chicago.
How much do you need to earn in Chicago to live like in Atlanta?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Atlanta is worth about $76,307 in Chicago. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Atlanta or Chicago?
Both cities are in the same country, so national income tax (37%) and VAT are identical; only local cost of living differs.
◷ More comparisons from Atlanta
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.