City comparison
Chicago, IL is about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) from Davis, CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,200 miles, or about 37 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 Chicago, IL to Davis, CA takes about 3 h 36 min, covering roughly 1,800 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.
Chicago, IL is on Central Time and Davis, CA is on Pacific Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Chicago, it's 10 a.m. in Davis, which puts Chicago 2 hours ahead.
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 67,203 in Davis — about 40.5× larger by population. By land area, Chicago covers about 230 sq mi vs 10 sq mi for Davis.
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 | Chicago | Davis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,314/mo | $1,927/mo | 46.7% higher in Davis |
| Median home value | $304,500 | $803,100 | 163.7% higher in Davis |
| Median household income | $71,673 | $83,592 | 16.6% higher in Davis |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 105.1 | 1.2% higher in Chicago |
| Utilities index | 84.4 | 148.9 | 76.5% higher in Davis |
| Transportation index | 100.3 | 100.7 | ≈ equal (Davis slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 100.2 | 100.6 | ≈ equal (Davis 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 Chicago, you'd need $113,922 in Davis to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Chicago, IL is about 12.2% cheaper overall than Davis, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 19% higher in Davis than in Chicago. If you earn $80,000 in Chicago, you'd need about $91,138 in Davis to keep the same standard of living.