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Thursday, August 6, 2026

Los Angeles vs Chicago

Los Angeles, CA compared with Chicago, IL · 1,749 miles apart

Los Angeles has 3,869,089 residents to Chicago’s 2,731,585. Los Angeles comes out ahead on median household income, average commute, poverty rate. Chicago does better on median rent, homeownership, bachelor's degree +.

Los Angeles, CA Chicago, IL
Population 3,869,089 2,731,585
Density (per sq mi) 8,223 11,994
Median household income $81,939 $77,902
Median home value $921,200 $334,100
Median rent $1,933 $1,440
Homeownership 36% 46%
Average commute 30.7 min 33.1 min
Median age 37.2 35.8
Bachelor's degree + 38.5% 44.3%
Poverty rate 16.5% 16.8%
Unemployment 8.2% 8%
Price to income 11.2× 4.3×
Clear days a year 61 21
Days above 90°F 3 11

Highlighted where one city is clearly better on that measure. Population, density, home value and median age carry no highlight — a higher number there is good or bad depending on what you want.

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