City comparison
Chicago, IL is about 1,800 miles (3,000 km) from Redwood City, CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,300 miles, or about 38 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 Redwood City, CA takes about 3 h 42 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 Redwood City, CA is on Pacific Time — a 2-hour difference. When it's noon in Chicago, it's 10 a.m. in Redwood City, 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 83,077 in Redwood City — about 32.8× larger by population. By land area, Chicago covers about 230 sq mi vs 19 sq mi for Redwood City.
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 | Redwood City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,314/mo | $2,899/mo | 120.6% higher in Redwood City |
| Median home value | $304,500 | $1,777,600 | 483.8% higher in Redwood City |
| Median household income | $71,673 | $145,620 | 103.2% higher in Redwood City |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 107.4 | 1.0% higher in Redwood City |
| Utilities index | 84.4 | 165.0 | 95.5% higher in Redwood City |
| Transportation index | 100.3 | 104.8 | 4.5% higher in Redwood City |
| Healthcare index | 100.2 | 104.8 | 4.6% higher in Redwood City |
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 $144,953 in Redwood City to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Chicago, IL is about 31% cheaper overall than Redwood City, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 81% higher in Redwood City than in Chicago. If you earn $80,000 in Chicago, you'd need about $115,962 in Redwood City to keep the same standard of living.