Chicago vs New York City
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights the two cities tie at 66. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
America's great architecture city on the lake
Full Chicago profile →Plan a trip to Chicago →The city that never sleeps, at a price that never sleeps either
Full New York City profile →Plan a trip to New York City →Where they differ
Where they are close. Within five points on cost of living, air quality, getting there & around, internet, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Chicago if you want
- to spend about $269 less a month
Pick New York City if you want
- no clear edge over Chicago in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Chicago | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 19 ✓ | 15 |
| Safety | 51 | 51 |
| Healthcare | 85 | 85 |
| Internet | 79 ✓ | 78 |
| Visa ease | 61 | 61 |
| Getting there & around | 76 | 78 ✓ |
| Climate | 33 | 33 |
| Air quality | 92 | 95 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 96 | 96 |
Cost
| Metric | Chicago | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one person | $3,108 ✓ | $3,377 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Chicago | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 5.76 | 5.76 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 60.3 | 60.3 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 88 | 88 |
| Life expectancy | 78.5 yrs | 78.5 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Chicago | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 73.5 Mbps ✓ | 69.2 Mbps |
| Upload | 11.7 Mbps ✓ | 11.6 Mbps |
Visa
| Metric | Chicago | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | home country | home country |
| Entry, EU passport | eTA required (online, before travel) | eTA required (online, before travel) |
| Entry, UK passport | eTA required (online, before travel) | eTA required (online, before travel) |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Chicago | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 288 ✓ | 265 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 4 | 5 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 5 | 5 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Chicago | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 4 | 4 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 8.7 µg/m³ | 7.1 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Chicago or New York City?
- Chicago is cheaper: about $3,108 per month versus $3,377 for one person.
- Is Chicago or New York City safer?
- Chicago and New York City score the same on safety (51), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Chicago or New York City?
- Chicago: a measured median of 73.5 Mbps versus 69.2 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
- Chicago vs Washington DC
- Chicago vs Boston
- New York City vs Washington DC
- New York City vs Boston
- All comparisons
Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (all items); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.3. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.