City comparison
Chicago, IL is about 1,700 miles (2,800 km) from Pico Rivera, CA 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 Pico Rivera, CA 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 Pico Rivera, CA is on Pacific Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Chicago, it's 10 a.m. in Pico Rivera, 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 61,561 in Pico Rivera — about 44.2× larger by population. By land area, Chicago covers about 230 sq mi vs 8.3 sq mi for Pico Rivera.
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 | Pico Rivera | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,314/mo | $1,702/mo | 29.5% higher in Pico Rivera |
| Median home value | $304,500 | $596,500 | 95.9% higher in Pico Rivera |
| Median household income | $71,673 | $82,539 | 15.2% higher in Pico Rivera |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 106.4 | ≈ equal (Pico Rivera slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 84.4 | 155.6 | 84.4% higher in Pico Rivera |
| Transportation index | 100.3 | 104.4 | 4.1% higher in Pico Rivera |
| Healthcare index | 100.2 | 104.3 | 4.1% higher in Pico Rivera |
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 $130,007 in Pico Rivera to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Chicago, IL is about 23.1% cheaper overall than Pico Rivera, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 50% higher in Pico Rivera than in Chicago. If you earn $80,000 in Chicago, you'd need about $104,005 in Pico Rivera to keep the same standard of living.