# Chicago vs Vancouver

> On balanced weights, Vancouver comes out ahead: 61 against 55 out of 100, mostly on safety and research output. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/chicago-us-vs-vancouver-ca/

Scores out of 100: Chicago 55, Vancouver 61. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=chicago-us,vancouver-ca

## Line by line

| Line | Chicago | Vancouver |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | at most €581 a month; money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) | €888 a month (CMHC Rental Market Survey: average rents (Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133-01); World Development Indicators) |
| Cost of living | money here is partial: it leaves out health insurance premium bought outside pay (add yours, a month) (American Community Survey 1-year estimates; World Development Indicators) | €2,892 a month (CMHC Rental Market Survey: average rents (Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133-01); World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 53 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 53 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 9 h 08 min | 8 h 11 min |
| Sunshine | 2,515 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | 1,947 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) |
| Dry days | 120 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 158 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 8.7 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 6.0 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 5.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 2.0 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 78.9 years (World Development Indicators) | 82.1 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €110 a month (World Development Indicators) | €73 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 0 weeks (mother 0, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 22 weeks (mother 20, father 2) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | no data | 7.40 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 47 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 64 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 11 km (OurAirports airports) | 8 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 25 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | no data |
| Rail and metro stations | 109 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 38 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 34 minutes (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | no data |
| Cycle network | 0.55 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.50 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 92 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 95 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 9.5 % of commuters (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | no data |
| Quick way out by bike | 18.2 km, about 73 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 5.2 km, about 21 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 933 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 4 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 15 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 5.8 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 16.7 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 62 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 73 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 96 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 87 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 21.1 % born abroad (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | no data |
| Doctors | 3.7 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 2.8 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 6.9 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 56.5 % of adults (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) | 49.3 % of adults (World Development Indicators) |
| Developers around | 19.3 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 54.9 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.87 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.59 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | centre-right, 6.1 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 13 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 15 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 4 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 5 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 22 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 40 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 11 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 182 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 241 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 45 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 144 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 167 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 33 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 25 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 18 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 17 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 19 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Chicago or Vancouver?

For one person renting a one-bedroom home, Vancouver is cheaper: about €2,892 a month against €3,357, rent and everyday spending included. Rent comes from official rent statistics and everyday spending is scaled by each country's World Bank price level.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Chicago and in Vancouver?

About US$52,877 a year in Chicago (United States 2026 tax rules) and CA$71,187 in Vancouver (Canada 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Chicago or Vancouver?

Chicago is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 15.0 °C against 13.3 °C in Vancouver (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Chicago or Vancouver?

Vancouver has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 6.0 µg/m³ against 8.7 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2022 and 2023).

### Can a citizen of the United States live and work in Vancouver without a visa?

No. Citizens of the United States need a visa or permit to live and work in Canada.

## Cite

Borgo, "Chicago vs Vancouver", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/chicago-us-vs-vancouver-ca/, figures as of 2026-11-05.