2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Palo Alto, CA vs Chicago, IL

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Highlights
- Household income in Chicago, is 66% less than it is in Palo Alto and is 5% below the National Average.
- Palo Alto unemployment rate is 3.5%.
- Chicago unemployment rate is 9.0%.
 Palo Alto, CAChicago, ILUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock9.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock-0.2%1.6%
 Future Job Growth40.5%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$105,070  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$65,781$69,021
 Family Median Income$241,579  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Palo Alto, CAChicago, ILUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock13.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K1.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock8.6%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K2.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock6.7%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K2.6%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.5%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K5.4%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock14.7%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K9.9%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock10.9%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Palo Alto, CAChicago, ILUnited States
 Management, business, finance26.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.6%6.5%
 Community, social services1.0%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock2.2%1.2%
 Education, library10.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.0%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.4%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement0.6%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance0.4%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.9%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support10.0%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair1.6%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock12.1%13.1%
Reviews for Palo Alto    8 Reviews

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  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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