City comparison
Chicago, IL is about 800 miles (1,300 km) from Plano, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,000 miles, or about 16 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 Chicago, IL to Plano, TX takes about 1 h 34 min, covering roughly 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 has a population of 2,721,914, vs 284,948 in Plano — about 9.6× larger by population. By land area, Chicago covers about 230 sq mi vs 72 sq mi for Plano.
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 | Plano | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,314/mo | $1,699/mo | 29.3% higher in Plano |
| Median home value | $304,500 | $412,500 | 35.5% higher in Plano |
| Median household income | $71,673 | $105,679 | 47.4% higher in Plano |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 102.5 | 3.8% higher in Chicago |
| Utilities index | 84.4 | 91.1 | 8.0% higher in Plano |
| Transportation index | 100.3 | 99.8 | 0.6% higher in Chicago |
| Healthcare index | 100.2 | 99.2 | 1.0% higher in Chicago |
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 $103,004 in Plano to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Chicago, IL is about 2.9% cheaper overall than Plano, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 7% higher in Plano than in Chicago. If you earn $80,000 in Chicago, you'd need about $82,404 in Plano to keep the same standard of living.