Balivs
ChicagoBali vs Chicago: cost, size & quality of life compared
Trying to decide between Bali and Chicago? Here's the honest bottom line first — then the full, sourced breakdown on cost of living, salary, safety and quality of life.
Bali comes out ahead overall — by a narrow edge.
But the "winner" depends on what you care about. Here's who takes each dimension:
BaliBaliBaliChicagoComposite scores
Overall: Bali wins by 0.3 points
Population & size
Is Bali bigger than Chicago?
Bali is the bigger city: about 4.3M people versus Chicago's 2.7M — roughly 1.6× larger.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
Distance
How far is Bali from Chicago?
Bali is about 15,690 km (9,750 mi) from Chicago in a straight line — roughly 19 h 15 m of nonstop flight time.
Great-circle distance, not a routed itinerary; flight estimate assumes ~850 km/h cruise plus 45 minutes of taxi, climb and descent.
Climate
Is Bali warmer than Chicago?
Bali is the warmer city: January highs average 31°C vs -1°C, and July 29°C vs 29°C. Annual sunshine is comparable between the two.
| Month | Bali | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| January (high / low) | 31° / 24°C | -1° / -8°C |
| July (high / low) | 29° / 22°C | 29° / 19°C |
Tropical — warm year-round with a real dry season (May-Sep, the digital-nomad high season) and a humid rainy season Dec-Mar.
Continental humid. Brutally cold snowy winters (wind chill off Lake Michigan), hot humid summers. The four-season classic.
Bali edges out Chicago on the Mundevo composite, 5.4 to 5.1 out of 10 — a narrow 0.3-point margin across safety, healthcare, air quality and cost.
The composite gap is small enough that one weighted axis can flip the result. Use the per-axis breakdown below to see which city wins your specific priorities — someone optimizing for healthcare can land on a different answer than someone optimizing for affordability.
Run the salary calculator for both cities at your target lifestyle before deciding — Bali winning on quality doesn't mean the gross-salary requirement also lands in your favor. If you're on a balanced tier, the cost-of-living pages for each city carry the full monthly basket and the gross-salary figure.
Data signals
What separates Bali and Chicago
How decisive
Bali comes out ahead by 0.3 composite points — a narrow edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is affordability, where Bali leads by 4.7 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on quality of life — within 0.0 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in Chicago run about 277% higher than in Bali.
Where budgets split most
Healthcare is the line item that diverges most: roughly 1115% pricier in Chicago than Bali.
Size difference
Bali is the larger metro — about 1.6× the population of the other, which shapes commute times, housing supply and how "big-city" daily life feels.
Home internet
Chicago has the faster typical broadband (250 vs 50 Mbps median) — worth weighing if you work remotely or move large files.
Safety
Bali scores higher on safety (62 vs 45 / 100) — a common deciding factor for families.
Score-by-score, side-by-side
Each axis is scored independently with disclosed weights and a calculation string.
The exact scores and winners:
| Axis | Bali | Chicago | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 7.2 | 2.5 | Bali +4.7 |
| Quality of life | 5.9 | 5.9 | Bali +0.0 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 5.2 | 6.8 | Chicago +1.6 |
| Healthcare | 3.4 | 5.3 | Chicago +1.9 |
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)32
- Rent index (weight 40%)22
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Bali: ((100 − 32)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 22)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.2.
Bali sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)62
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)48
- Air quality index (weight 25%)70
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Bali: (62/100 × 0.4 + 48/100 × 0.35 + 70/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.9.
Bali has a mixed quality profile. Safety: good; healthcare: fair; air: good. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)50 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)10.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)32
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Bali: (min(50/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.1) × 0.3 + (100 − 32)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.2.
Bali works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 50 Mbps, income tax 10%, cost index 32.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)48
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)600000
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Bali: (48/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 600000/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 3.4.
Bali has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is fair, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~600000 IDR/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)78
- Rent index (weight 40%)70
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Chicago: ((100 − 78)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 70)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 2.5.
Chicago is among the more expensive cities tracked. Salary expectations should be calibrated to the high cost base before relocating.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)45
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)72
- Air quality index (weight 25%)65
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Chicago: (45/100 × 0.4 + 72/100 × 0.35 + 65/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.9.
Chicago has a mixed quality profile. Safety: fair; healthcare: good; air: good. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)250 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)17.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)78
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Chicago: (min(250/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.17) × 0.3 + (100 − 78)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 6.8.
Chicago works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 250 Mbps, income tax 17%, cost index 78.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)72
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)450
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Chicago: (72/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 450/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 5.3.
Chicago has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~450 USD/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Monthly cost delta: Bali vs Chicago
Normalized to IDR at 1 USD = 16203.7037 IDR.
| Category | Bali | Chicago | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | IDR 8,500,000 | $2,200 | +319% |
| food | IDR 3,500,000 | $600 | +178% |
| transport | IDR 500,000 | $105 | +240% |
| utilities | IDR 900,000 | $230 | +314% |
| leisure | IDR 4,000,000 | $600 | +143% |
| healthcare | IDR 600,000 | $450 | +1115% |
Where each city's money goes
Two cities can have the same monthly total but very different shapes — one might burn 50% on housing while the other splits more evenly. The composition matters as much as the headline.
The biggest shape difference is leisure: Bali spends 7.9 percentage points more of its budget on it (22% vs. 14%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Buying property
Apartment prices: Bali vs Chicago
Approximate asking prices in EUR per square meter (as of 2025-01), central vs mid-distance neighborhoods.
Buying in central Bali runs about 56% cheaper per square meter (€2,400/m² vs €5,500/m²).
Midpoints of public listing ranges — a scoping number for rent-vs-buy thinking, not a valuation. Renting comparisons live in the cost table above.
Getting around
Public transport: Bali vs Chicago
Monthly pass and casual-ride pricing in EUR (as of 2025-01) plus the modes each network runs.
Trans Metro Dewata buses exist on paper-thin coverage — Bali life runs on scooters and Gojek/Grab. The figure reflects bus fares few expats actually use.
Single ride: €0.25 · Modes: Bus
CTA monthly pass; 'L' lines run 24/7 on the Red and Blue lines, useful for night-shift workers.
Single ride: €2.4 · Modes: Metro, Bus, Commuter rail
Salary equivalence: Bali ↔ Chicago
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Bali = 32, Chicago = 78); currency-converted at 1 USD = 16203.7037 IDR. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Bali gross | Chicago equivalent |
|---|---|
| IDR 40,000 | $6 |
| IDR 75,000 | $11 |
| IDR 120,000 | $18 |
| Chicago gross | Bali equivalent |
|---|---|
| $40,000 | IDR 265,906,933 |
| $75,000 | IDR 498,575,499 |
| $120,000 | IDR 797,720,798 |
Equivalence here means same cost-of-living purchasing power, not same net take-home. Effective tax rates differ between countries; a salary equivalent on cost can still net more or less depending on the destination's tax regime. Use the calculator for tax-adjusted figures at a specific lifestyle tier.
Pros and cons
Why pick Bali
- Wins on affordability (+4.7 points vs Chicago).
Why pick Chicago
- Wins on remote-work friendliness (+1.6 points vs Bali).
- Wins on healthcare (+1.9 points vs Bali).
Bali trade-offs
- Trails Chicago on remote-work friendliness by 1.6 points.
- Trails Chicago on healthcare by 1.9 points.
Chicago trade-offs
- Trails Bali on affordability by 4.7 points.
Remote work logistics
Time zones and language: Bali vs Chicago
Bali (Asia/Makassar) and Chicago (America/Chicago) sit 14 hours apart in standard time. A 9-to-5 in one overlaps the other's for 0 hours a day — fully asynchronous collaboration. Note: Chicago observes daylight saving while Bali doesn't, so the gap shifts by an hour part of the year.
Official: Indonesian · English: High · Local language: Helpful
The nomad economy (Canggu, Ubud) runs in English end-to-end. Bahasa Indonesia is appreciated and helps outside the expat bubbles; Balinese is the local layer.
Official: English · English: Native-equivalent · Local language: Not needed
English-native, extremely multicultural. Spanish strong in Pilsen / Little Village; Polish heritage on the north side. English universal.
Who should choose which
The composite winner doesn't always match what matters to you. These four reader profiles weigh the axes differently — find the closest fit.
Single, salaried remote worker, 25-40, optimizing for runway + bandwidth.
Axes scored: affordability, remoteWork
Couple with school-age children, prioritizing safety, healthcare, and air quality.
Axes scored: qualityOfLife, healthcare
Fixed income, healthcare-sensitive, prefers low cost and stable infrastructure.
Axes scored: healthcare, qualityOfLife, affordability
Salary stretch matters most. Cuts everything else if it lowers the burn rate.
Axes scored: affordability
Profiles use simple axis averaging — for a deeper read with your own weights, use the per-axis breakdown above.
Going deeper
Visa landscape for both countries — and case studies that touch this corridor.
Tools that work for either choice
Some links below are affiliate links — if you sign up we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
How this page is calculated
Data sources
- Mundevo per-city dataset. Cost basket, rent index, safety, healthcare, air quality and median internet for both cities. Reference date: 2026-06-10 (Bali) and 2026-05-28 (Chicago).
- FX rate. 1 USD = 16203.7037 IDR, used to normalize cost baskets.
- CityScoreCalculator. Four axes (Affordability, Quality of life, Remote work, Healthcare) computed with explicit weights and explanations. See per-axis calculation strings rendered on this page.
- ComparisonService. Per-category cost deltas (housing, food, transport, utilities, leisure, healthcare) normalized to the origin currency.
Update cadence
Data as of . Last reviewed .
Calculation
For each of the four axes we compute an independent 0–10 score using the formulas printed beside each axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes. The overall winner is the city with the higher composite, unless the margin is under 0.05 points — in which case Bali is shown first as a tiebreaker to keep results stable.
Limitations
- Climate is not scored — we don't yet hold a maintained climate dataset, so weather-driven preferences are not modeled.
- Tax differences between cities in the same country are not modeled (Spain and Germany don't have material regional differences for this dataset).
- Indices are population-level. Personal cost varies with neighborhood, employer benefits and family status.
- Quality-of-life axis weights (safety 0.4 / healthcare 0.35 / air 0.25) are editorial defaults — readers with strong preferences should re-weight manually.
Frequently asked questions
Bali vs Chicago: which is cheaper?
Bali is roughly 277% cheaper than Chicago on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Bali has cost index 32 vs Chicago at 78 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Bali scores 5.4/10 on the Mundevo composite versus Chicago at 5.1/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). Bali wins overall by 0.3 points.
Is Bali or Chicago better for remote work?
Bali has 50 Mbps median internet vs Chicago at 250 Mbps. The four-axis decision rubric on this page (affordability, quality of life, remote work, healthcare) gives a per-dimension breakdown rather than a single answer.
Is Bali bigger than Chicago?
Bali is larger — about 4.3M people versus Chicago's 2.7M, roughly 1.6× the size.
Is Bali safer than Chicago?
Bali scores higher on safety — 62 vs 45 / 100 on the Mundevo safety index (crime and personal-security signals).
Should I move to Bali or Chicago?
It depends on what you weight. Bali wins the overall Mundevo composite by 0.3 points, but Bali is cheaper, and the two split differently across affordability, quality of life, remote work and healthcare. Use the per-axis table and the reader-profile section above to match the verdict to your own priorities.