City comparison
Chicago, IL is about 1,700 miles (2,800 km) from Federal Way, WA 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 Chicago, IL to Federal Way, WA takes about 3 h 28 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.
Chicago, IL is on Central Time and Federal Way, WA is on Pacific Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Chicago, it's 10 a.m. in Federal Way, 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 99,614 in Federal Way — about 27.3× larger by population. By land area, Chicago covers about 230 sq mi vs 22 sq mi for Federal Way.
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 | Federal Way | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,314/mo | $1,660/mo | 26.3% higher in Federal Way |
| Median home value | $304,500 | $454,300 | 49.2% higher in Federal Way |
| Median household income | $71,673 | $80,360 | 12.1% higher in Federal Way |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 104.0 | 2.3% higher in Chicago |
| Utilities index | 84.4 | 95.7 | 13.5% higher in Federal Way |
| Transportation index | 100.3 | 106.6 | 6.3% higher in Federal Way |
| Healthcare index | 100.2 | 106.6 | 6.4% higher in Federal Way |
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 $118,017 in Federal Way to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Chicago, IL is about 15.3% cheaper overall than Federal Way, WA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 34% higher in Federal Way than in Chicago. If you earn $80,000 in Chicago, you'd need about $94,414 in Federal Way to keep the same standard of living.