City comparison
Chicago, IL is about 1,400 miles (2,200 km) from Flagstaff, AZ in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,700 miles, or about 28 hours (about 3 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 Flagstaff, AZ takes about 2 h 44 min, covering roughly 1,400 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 Flagstaff, AZ is on Mountain Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Chicago, it's 11 a.m. in Flagstaff, which puts Chicago 1 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 76,177 in Flagstaff — about 35.7× larger by population. By land area, Chicago covers about 230 sq mi vs 66 sq mi for Flagstaff.
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 | Flagstaff | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,314/mo | $1,469/mo | 11.8% higher in Flagstaff |
| Median home value | $304,500 | $466,600 | 53.2% higher in Flagstaff |
| Median household income | $71,673 | $65,652 | 9.2% higher in Chicago |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 96.9 | 9.7% higher in Chicago |
| Utilities index | 84.4 | 96.6 | 14.5% higher in Flagstaff |
| Transportation index | 100.3 | 100.3 | ≈ equal (Chicago slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 100.2 | 100.2 | ≈ equal (Flagstaff 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 $98,861 in Flagstaff to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Flagstaff, AZ is about 1.1% cheaper overall than Chicago, IL, based on our cost-of-living index. If you earn $80,000 in Chicago, you'd need about $79,089 in Flagstaff to keep the same standard of living.