City comparison
Centennial, CO is about 900 miles (1,500 km) from Chicago, IL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,100 miles, or about 19 hours 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 Centennial, CO to Chicago, IL takes about 1 h 49 min, covering roughly 900 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.
Centennial, CO is on Mountain Time and Chicago, IL is on Central Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Centennial, it's 1 p.m. in Chicago, which puts Centennial 1 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 107,702 in Centennial — about 25.3× larger by population. By land area, Chicago covers about 230 sq mi vs 30 sq mi for Centennial.
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 | Centennial | Chicago | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,949/mo | $1,314/mo | 48.3% higher in Centennial |
| Median home value | $586,500 | $304,500 | 92.6% higher in Centennial |
| Median household income | $124,617 | $71,673 | 73.9% higher in Centennial |
| Groceries index | 101.2 | 106.4 | 5.1% higher in Chicago |
| Utilities index | 91.2 | 84.4 | 8.1% higher in Centennial |
| Transportation index | 99.9 | 100.3 | ≈ equal (Chicago slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 99.9 | 100.2 | ≈ equal (Chicago slightly higher) |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Centennial, you'd need $87,463 in Chicago to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Chicago, IL is about 12.5% cheaper overall than Centennial, CO, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 33% higher in Centennial than in Chicago. If you earn $80,000 in Centennial, you'd need about $69,971 in Chicago to keep the same standard of living.