City comparison
Springfield, IL is about 750 miles (1,200 km) from Wilkes-Barre, PA 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 Springfield, IL to Wilkes-Barre, PA takes about 1 h 28 min, covering roughly 750 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.
Springfield, IL is on Central Time and Wilkes-Barre, PA is on Eastern Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Springfield, it's 1 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre, which puts Springfield 1 hours behind.
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.
Springfield has a population of 114,214, vs 44,123 in Wilkes-Barre — about 2.6× larger by population. By land area, Springfield covers about 61 sq mi vs 6.8 sq mi for Wilkes-Barre.
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 | Springfield | Wilkes-Barre | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $913/mo | $897/mo | 1.8% higher in Springfield |
| Median home value | $147,700 | $98,200 | 50.4% higher in Springfield |
| Median household income | $62,419 | $46,597 | 34.0% higher in Springfield |
| Groceries index | 93.9 | 100.7 | 7.3% higher in Wilkes-Barre |
| Utilities index | 90.5 | 105.9 | 17.0% higher in Wilkes-Barre |
| Transportation index | 99.3 | 97.6 | 1.8% higher in Springfield |
| Healthcare index | 99.5 | 98.3 | 1.2% higher in Springfield |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Springfield, you'd need $100,198 in Wilkes-Barre to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Springfield and Wilkes-Barre have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. Housing costs are roughly 6% higher in Springfield than in Wilkes-Barre. If you earn $80,000 in Springfield, you'd need about $80,158 in Wilkes-Barre to keep the same standard of living.