Cost of Living: Cleveland, OH vs Chicago, IL

Quick rent-and-take-home comparison

Using a baseline of $70,000/yr gross, take-home is about $4,356/mo in Cleveland, OH versus $4,227/mo in Chicago, IL. In the model, rent is about 21.57% of gross in Cleveland, OH versus 20.28% in Chicago, IL, so Chicago, IL tends to feel more affordable for rent.

Take-home in Cleveland, OH
$4,356/mo
Income level: below
Take-home in Chicago, IL
$4,227/mo
Income level: above
Rent share (1BR) in Cleveland, OH
21.57%
COLI tier: lower-cost
Rent share (1BR) in Chicago, IL
20.28%
COLI tier: mid-range

Compare cost of living, rent, housing prices, and salary affordability between Cleveland, OH and Chicago, IL.

At a glance

  • Cheaper overall (lower cost-of-living index): Cleveland, OH
  • Lower rent (median 1BR/2BR): Chicago, IL
  • Lower home prices: Chicago, IL
  • Higher median household income: Cleveland, OH

Cost of Living Index

Cleveland, OH: 78.6 (U.S. = 100) · Chicago, IL: 98.3 (U.S. = 100)

Cleveland, OH has a lower cost-of-living index than Chicago, IL, so a given salary generally stretches further there.

Median Rent

Cleveland, OH: $1,406/mo (midpoint of 1BR/2BR) · Chicago, IL: $1,323/mo

Median rent in Cleveland, OH is $83/mo higher than in Chicago, IL.

Median Home Price

Cleveland, OH: $336,100 · Chicago, IL: $147,800

Median home price in Cleveland, OH is $188,300 higher than in Chicago, IL.

Median Household Income

Cleveland, OH: $110,101 · Chicago, IL: $56,815

Cleveland, OH has a higher median household income than Chicago, IL by $53,286.

Cleveland, OH overview · Chicago, IL overview · Popular comparisons