City comparison
Schenectady, NY is about 700 miles (1,100 km) from Waukegan, IL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 900 miles, or about 15 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 Schenectady, NY to Waukegan, IL takes about 1 h 25 min, covering roughly 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.
Schenectady, NY is on Eastern Time and Waukegan, IL is on Central Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Schenectady, it's 11 a.m. in Waukegan, which puts Schenectady 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.
Waukegan has a population of 89,435, vs 68,476 in Schenectady — about 1.3× larger by population. By land area, Waukegan covers about 24 sq mi vs 11 sq mi for Schenectady.
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 | Schenectady | Waukegan | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,038/mo | $1,132/mo | 9.1% higher in Waukegan |
| Median home value | $140,000 | $164,400 | 17.4% higher in Waukegan |
| Median household income | $54,650 | $66,077 | 20.9% higher in Waukegan |
| Groceries index | 99.8 | 106.0 | 6.3% higher in Waukegan |
| Utilities index | 130.9 | 84.8 | 54.4% higher in Schenectady |
| Transportation index | 97.6 | 100.1 | 2.6% higher in Waukegan |
| Healthcare index | 98.4 | 100.3 | 2.0% higher in Waukegan |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Schenectady, you'd need $100,117 in Waukegan to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Schenectady and Waukegan have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. Housing costs are roughly 6% higher in Waukegan than in Schenectady. If you earn $80,000 in Schenectady, you'd need about $80,094 in Waukegan to keep the same standard of living.