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Thursday, August 6, 2026

New York vs Chicago

New York, NY compared with Chicago, IL · 718 miles apart

New York has 8,584,629 residents to Chicago’s 2,731,585. New York comes out ahead on median household income, clear days a year. Chicago does better on median rent, homeownership, average commute.

New York, NY Chicago, IL
Population 8,584,629 2,731,585
Density (per sq mi) 28,569 11,994
Median household income $80,483 $77,902
Median home value $777,600 $334,100
Median rent $1,821 $1,440
Homeownership 32.8% 46%
Average commute 40.3 min 33.1 min
Median age 38.2 35.8
Bachelor's degree + 41.6% 44.3%
Poverty rate 17.9% 16.8%
Unemployment 8% 8%
Price to income 9.7× 4.3×
Clear days a year 24 21
Days above 90°F 10 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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