✦ Compare
Chicago vs
Montreal
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
To keep the same standard of living in Montreal, CA, you'd need
$72,218 / year
Montreal, CA is 4% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Montreal, CA vs Chicago, IL)
- Housing-12%
- Food & groceries+12%
- Transport-21%
- Utilities+9%
- Healthcare-18%
- Goods & services+7%
◎ How Chicago, IL and Montreal, CA compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Chicago, IL | Montreal, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 103 | 99 |
| Housing | 116 | 102 |
| Food | 95 | 106 |
| Transport | 101 | 80 |
| Utilities | 90 | 98 |
| Healthcare | 98 | 80 |
| Goods & services | 98 | 105 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,900/mo | $1,150/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,450/mo | $900/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $3,600/mo | $2,200/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $5,500 | $5,500 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $973 | $1,011 |
| Inexpensive meal | $18 | $18 |
| Monthly transit pass | $105 | $70 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 37% | 33% |
| VAT / sales tax | 0% | 5% |
| Social security (employee) | 7.7% | — |
| Corporate tax | 21% | 26.5% |
| Capital gains | 20% | — |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $4,300/mo | $3,300/mo |
| Minimum wage | $1,257/mo | $1,900/mo |
| GDP per capita | $90,027 | $55,698 |
| Inflation (annual) | — | 2.1% |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | No | Yes |
| English proficiency | Native | High |
| Coworking spaces | 90 | 50 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 | UTC-5 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Safety index | 48 | 72 |
| Healthcare index | 80 | 78 |
| Pollution index | 45 | 35 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 180 Mbps |
| Walkability | 78 | 78 |
| Public transport | 78 | 78 |
| Family-friendly | 60 | 74 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Health insurance | $450/mo | — |
| Life expectancy | 79 yr | 82 yr |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | -4 °C | -9 °C |
| July avg | +24 °C | +21 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 189 | 160 |
| Rainfall / year | 950 mm | 1,000 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 2 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: United States vs Canada. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
Good to know before you move to Chicago
Big-city amenities and architecture at Midwest prices — the winters, though, are famously brutal.
- Currency
- US dollar ($ 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
Good to know before you move to Montreal
A bilingual, European-flavoured metropolis and the most affordable of Canada's big cities — rents well below Toronto or Vancouver, a huge festival and food culture, and cheap universities. The catch is the long, brutally cold winter and Quebec's French-first bureaucracy.
- Currency
- Canadian dollar ($ CAD)
- Languages
- English, French
- Time zone
- UTC-5
- Internet
- 180 Mbps
- English
- Widely spoken
- Safety
- 72/100
- Climate
- ❄ -9°C · ☀ 21°C · 160 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Plateau-Mont-Royal · Mile End · Griffintown · Rosemont
Plan your move to Chicago
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsNH Hotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
Plan your move to Montreal
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Chicago to Montreal: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Chicago to Montreal, your cost of living will be roughly 4% cheaper. Montreal’s cost-of-living index is 99 versus 103 for Chicago (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Chicago cheaper than Montreal?
Montreal is about 4% cheaper than Chicago overall — its cost-of-living index is 99 versus 103 for Chicago.
How much do you need to earn in Montreal to live like in Chicago?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Chicago is worth about $72,218 in Montreal. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Chicago or Montreal?
Canada has the lower top income-tax rate — 33% versus 37% in United States.
◷ More comparisons from Chicago
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.