City comparison
Burbank, CA is about 1,700 miles (2,800 km) from Chicago, IL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,200 miles, or about 36 hours (about 4 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Burbank, CA to Chicago, IL takes about 3 h 29 min, covering roughly 1,700 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Burbank, CA is on Pacific Time and Chicago, IL is on Central Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Burbank, it's 2 p.m. in Chicago, which puts Burbank 2 hours behind.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Chicago has a population of 2,721,914, vs 106,389 in Burbank — about 25.6× larger by population. By land area, Chicago covers about 230 sq mi vs 17 sq mi for Burbank.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Burbank | Chicago | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,004/mo | $1,314/mo | 52.5% higher in Burbank |
| Median home value | $959,700 | $304,500 | 215.2% higher in Burbank |
| Median household income | $91,455 | $71,673 | 27.6% higher in Burbank |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 106.4 | ≈ equal (Burbank slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 155.6 | 84.4 | 84.4% higher in Burbank |
| Transportation index | 104.4 | 100.3 | 4.1% higher in Burbank |
| Healthcare index | 104.3 | 100.2 | 4.1% higher in Burbank |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Burbank, you'd need $76,407 in Chicago to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Chicago, IL is about 23.6% cheaper overall than Burbank, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 52% higher in Burbank than in Chicago. If you earn $80,000 in Burbank, you'd need about $61,126 in Chicago to keep the same standard of living.