2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Chicago, IL vs Petaluma, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Petaluma, is 53% more than it is in Chicago and is 31% above the National Average.
- Chicago unemployment rate is 9.0%.
- Petaluma unemployment rate is 5.0%.
 Chicago, ILPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.7%1.6%
 Future Job Growth25.7%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes10.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$41,821  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$100,379$69,021
 Family Median Income$79,434  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Chicago, ILPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.2%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock5.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K7.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.5%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.2%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.7%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock19.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K7.7%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock17.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Chicago, ILPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance19.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.6%6.5%
 Community, social services2.1%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.3%1.2%
 Education, library6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.2%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement3.0%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.3%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.4%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.6%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.3%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.4%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.9%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock9.5%13.1%
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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Reviews for Petaluma    16 Reviews

I agree with the low star reviews. Been here for 25 years, raised a family and seen everything turn to the left and worse. Weather is glorious, love the old Victorians  More

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We’ve lived here for 3 years and we love it. It has taken some time to grow on us. We moved from SF where we had lived over 15 years, we were not used to one year leases  More

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I’ve lived here a couple of years (after living in others parts of the Bay Area for 15+ years) and I love it! Great neighborhoods, friendly folks, good schools with  More

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