Chicagovs
JeddahChicago vs Jeddah: cost, size & quality of life compared
Trying to decide between Chicago and Jeddah? Here's the honest bottom line first — then the full, sourced breakdown on cost of living, salary, safety and quality of life.
Jeddah comes out ahead overall — by a clear margin.
But the "winner" depends on what you care about. Here's who takes each dimension:
JeddahJeddahJeddahJeddahComposite scores
Overall: Jeddah wins by 1.1 points
Population & size
Is Chicago bigger than Jeddah?
Jeddah is the bigger city: about 4.7M people versus Chicago's 2.7M — roughly 1.7× larger.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
National income
Is Chicago richer than Jeddah?
The two sit on different measures, so we are not ranking them: United States is reported as average annual wage ($82,933), Saudi Arabia as income per capita (GNI, PPP) ($71,730). A full-time wage and a whole-population income per head are not the same quantity.
Country-level figures — Chicago is not United States and Jeddah is not Saudi Arabia, and both cities typically pay above their national average. Gross, before tax: see take-home pay by country for what lands in the account.
Distance
How far is Chicago from Jeddah?
Chicago is about 11,100 km (6,900 mi) from Jeddah in a straight line — roughly 13 h 50 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 Chicago warmer than Jeddah?
Jeddah is the warmer city: January highs average 29°C vs -1°C, and July 39°C vs 29°C. Jeddah gets noticeably more sun — about 720 more sunshine hours per year.
| Month | Chicago | Jeddah |
|---|---|---|
| January (high / low) | -1° / -8°C | 29° / 19°C |
| July (high / low) | 29° / 19°C | 39° / 28°C |
Continental humid. Brutally cold snowy winters (wind chill off Lake Michigan), hot humid summers. The four-season classic.
Hot desert on the Red Sea — hot all year, extreme summer humidity along the corniche. Winter is warm rather than mild; rain is a rare event.
Jeddah's 6.2 score substantially outpaces Chicago's 5.1, reflecting stronger liveability metrics across housing, infrastructure, or safety categories rather than marginal differences.
A 1.1-point gap between major global cities is substantial—most metropolitan comparisons cluster within 0.5 points, making this a meaningful divergence.
If you prioritize measurable quality-of-life factors, examine Jeddah's specific advantages in the underlying dataset before assuming Chicago's cultural or economic offerings offset the numerical gap.
Data signals
What separates Chicago and Jeddah
How decisive
Jeddah comes out ahead by 1.1 composite points — a clear edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is affordability, where Jeddah leads by 3.6 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on healthcare — within 0.2 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in Jeddah run about 55% lower than in Chicago.
Where budgets split most
Healthcare is the line item that diverges most: roughly 77% cheaper in Jeddah than Chicago.
Size difference
Jeddah is the larger metro — about 1.7× the population of the other, which shapes commute times, housing supply and how "big-city" daily life feels.
Safety
Jeddah scores higher on safety (74 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 | Chicago | Jeddah | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 4.1 | 7.7 | Jeddah +3.6 |
| Quality of life | 5.9 | 6.5 | Jeddah +0.6 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 7.2 | 7.6 | Jeddah +0.4 |
| Healthcare | 6.4 | 6.2 | Chicago +0.2 |
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%)61
- Rent index (weight 40%)55
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Chicago: ((100 − 61)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 55)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 4.1.
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%)16.6%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)61
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 − 0.166) × 0.3 + (100 − 61)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 7.2.
Chicago combines fast internet (250 Mbps median), a 17% effective income tax and cost index 61 — a strong configuration for remote workers earning in a stronger currency.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)72
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)275
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 − 275/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 6.4.
Chicago has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~275 USD/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%)26
- Rent index (weight 40%)18
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Jeddah: ((100 − 26)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 18)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.7.
Jeddah 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%)74
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)66
- Air quality index (weight 25%)48
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Jeddah: (74/100 × 0.4 + 66/100 × 0.35 + 48/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 6.5.
Jeddah has a mixed quality profile. Safety: good; healthcare: good; air: fair. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)180 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)0.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)26
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Jeddah: (min(180/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0) × 0.3 + (100 − 26)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 7.6.
Jeddah combines fast internet (180 Mbps median), a 0% effective income tax and cost index 26 — a strong configuration for remote workers earning in a stronger currency.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)66
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)229
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Jeddah: (66/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 229/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 6.2.
Jeddah has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~229 SAR/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Monthly cost delta: Chicago vs Jeddah
Normalized to USD at 1 SAR = 0.2772 USD.
| Category | Chicago | Jeddah | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | $2,413 | SAR 2,866 | -67% |
| food | $367 | SAR 975 | -26% |
| transport | $75 | SAR 205 | -24% |
| utilities | $193 | SAR 395 | -43% |
| leisure | $367 | SAR 1,262 | -5% |
| healthcare | $275 | SAR 229 | -77% |
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 housing: Chicago spends 17.1 percentage points more of its budget on it (65% vs. 48%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Buying property
Apartment prices: Chicago vs Jeddah
Approximate asking prices in EUR per square meter (as of 2025-01), central vs mid-distance neighborhoods.
Buying in central Jeddah runs about 73% cheaper per square meter (€1,500/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: Chicago vs Jeddah
Monthly pass and casual-ride pricing in EUR (as of 2025-01) plus the modes each network runs.
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
SAPTCO/Jeddah Buses network is young and sparse — e-hailing (Careem/Uber) remains the practical default for most trips.
Single ride: €0.85 · Modes: Bus
Salary equivalence: Chicago ↔ Jeddah
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Chicago = 61, Jeddah = 26); currency-converted at 1 SAR = 0.2772 USD. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Chicago gross | Jeddah equivalent |
|---|---|
| $40,000 | SAR 61,514 |
| $75,000 | SAR 115,338 |
| $120,000 | SAR 184,541 |
| Jeddah gross | Chicago equivalent |
|---|---|
| SAR 40,000 | $26,010 |
| SAR 75,000 | $48,770 |
| SAR 120,000 | $78,031 |
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 Chicago
Chicago doesn't have any standout advantages of ≥0.3 points on the scoring model.
Why pick Jeddah
- Wins on affordability (+3.6 points vs Chicago).
- Wins on quality of life (+0.6 points vs Chicago).
- Wins on remote-work friendliness (+0.4 points vs Chicago).
Chicago trade-offs
- Trails Jeddah on affordability by 3.6 points.
- Trails Jeddah on quality of life by 0.6 points.
Jeddah trade-offs
No material trade-offs versus Chicago on the scored axes.
Remote work logistics
Time zones and language: Chicago vs Jeddah
Chicago (America/Chicago) and Jeddah (Asia/Riyadh) sit 9 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 Jeddah doesn't, so the gap shifts by an hour part of the year.
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.
Official: Arabic · English: High · Local language: Helpful
The most cosmopolitan Saudi city — English widely usable in business and daily services; Arabic needed for government interactions.
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: 2026-05-28 (Chicago) and 2026-06-10 (Jeddah).
- FX rate. 1 SAR = 0.2772 USD, 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 Chicago 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
Chicago vs Jeddah: which is cheaper?
Jeddah is roughly 55% cheaper than Chicago on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Chicago has cost index 61 vs Jeddah at 26 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Chicago scores 5.9/10 on the Mundevo composite versus Jeddah at 7.0/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). Jeddah wins overall by 1.1 points.
Is Chicago or Jeddah better for remote work?
Chicago has 250 Mbps median internet vs Jeddah at 180 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 Chicago bigger than Jeddah?
Jeddah is larger — about 4.7M people versus Chicago's 2.7M, roughly 1.7× the size.
Is Chicago safer than Jeddah?
Jeddah scores higher on safety — 74 vs 45 / 100 on the Mundevo safety index (crime and personal-security signals).
Should I move to Chicago or Jeddah?
It depends on what you weight. Jeddah wins the overall Mundevo composite by 1.1 points, but Jeddah 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.