2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Houston, TX vs Chicago, IL

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Highlights
- Household income in Chicago, is 17% more than it is in Houston and is 5% below the National Average.
- Houston unemployment rate is 8.0%.
- Chicago unemployment rate is 9.0%.
 Houston, TXChicago, ILUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock9.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock-0.2%1.6%
 Future Job Growth30.9%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$35,578  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$65,781$69,021
 Family Median Income$63,946  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Houston, TXChicago, ILUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock13.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock8.6%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock6.7%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.9%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.5%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K10.7%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock14.7%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K5.7%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock10.9%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Houston, TXChicago, ILUnited States
 Management, business, finance15.7%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.6%6.5%
 Community, social services1.2%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock2.2%1.2%
 Education, library5.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.0%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.4%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.8%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance5.1%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.9%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.6%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair11.9%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock12.1%13.1%
Reviews for Houston    371 Reviews

Over 3 years ago

I moved to Houston from the San Francisco Bay area in 1991 after college but I have always had family here. Houston is not what you think of when you think of Texas  More

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Over 3 years ago

There's definitely lots of jobs/economic opportunity. It's quite racially diverse if that's your thing. Houston has awful urban sprawl. Expect awful traffic. Hot as hell  More

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Over 3 years ago

There's definitely lots of jobs/economic opportunity. It's quite racially diverse if that's your thing. Houston has awful urban sprawl. Expect awful traffic. Hot as hell  More

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Reviews for Chicago    270 Reviews

I've lived in Chicago city and later moved to suburbs when family size increased. Absolutely love this city. This is the cleanest and most beautiful among the major  More

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Chicago is probably the best value in a major city that you can find and my personal favorite city. It will become increasingly important as climate change makes the  More

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I've live on north side and south side, UIC medical center. Don't move here go to the north side. No good amenities, if you get bored with one there is no other choices.  More

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