Chicago had a high cost of living compared to other large Midwestern cities in Business Insider's analysis of indexes from C2ER.
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Chicago had the highest Cost of Living Index score among 32 Midwestern cities.
Of the 32 Midwestern urban areas examined, 29 fell below the national average.
Springfield, Missouri, was the cheapest of the large Midwestern areas in the study, more than 15% below the national average.
Chicago is the most expensive place to live in the Midwest based on a cost of living index for the third quarter. However, the vast majority of the 32 large Midwestern cities included in the study are cheaper than the national average.
The Council for Community and Economic Research, or C2ER, released its quarterly Cost of Living Index in October. The index is based on six categories: housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services.
"The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile," the press release said.
Of the 269 urban areas to participate during the most recent C2ER study, 63 are from 12 Midwestern states — Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. We narrowed that list down to the 32 largest cities among the 63 Midwestern places with an index for the third quarter based on their population sizes.
Business Insider previously looked at the cost of living for places in Florida, Texas, and California. In California all 10 urban areas in the third quarter's analysis had an index score larger than 100. That means these California places were more expensive than the national average among cities in the study.
In the Midwest, only two cities — Chicago and Detroit — were above the national average. A third, Milwaukee, was right at 100. At the other end, Springfield, Missouri, had a cost of living 15.5% below the average at 84.5.
Below are the 32 Midwestern places in our analysis ranked by their indexes from C2ER.
Correction: December 1, 2023 — This article has been updated with a correct photo of Minneapolis.
32. Springfield, Missouri
larrybraunphotography.com/Getty Images
Composite index: 84.5
Home price: $354,925
Apartment rent: $1,029
Energy: $130.64
Doctor visit: $123.46
Beauty salon visit: $41.80
31. Kalamazoo, Michigan
JTGrafix/Getty Images
Composite index: 85.2
Home price: $292,434
Apartment rent: $913
Energy: $206.58
Doctor visit: $116.67
Beauty salon visit: $27.63
30. Topeka, Kansas
Getty Images
Composite index: 86.1
Home price: $373,163
Apartment rent: $891
Energy: $198.66
Doctor visit: $132.94
Beauty salon visit: $35.00
29. Rockford, Illinois
juan carlos tinjaca/Shutterstock
Composite index: 86.9
Home price: $300,000
Apartment rent: $1,158
Energy: $144.60
Doctor visit: $150.00
Beauty salon visit: $42.00
27 (tie). Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
Leigh Trail/Shutterstock
Composite index: 87.7
Home price: $358,200
Apartment rent: $923
Energy: $158.18
Doctor visit: $132.00
Beauty salon visit: $41.00
27 (tie). Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Illinois
