2025 Compare Cities Economy:
West Lafayette, IN vs Chicago, IL

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Highlights
- Household income in Chicago, is 129% more than it is in West Lafayette and is 5% below the National Average.
- West Lafayette unemployment rate is 2.9%.
- Chicago unemployment rate is 9.0%.
 West Lafayette, INChicago, ILUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock9.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock-0.2%1.6%
 Future Job Growth36.5%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes7.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$20,727  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$65,781$69,021
 Family Median Income$98,343  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 West Lafayette, INChicago, ILUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock13.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K7.7%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock8.6%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K6.8%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock6.7%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.9%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.5%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K7.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock14.7%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K4.1%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock10.9%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 West Lafayette, INChicago, ILUnited States
 Management, business, finance10.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.6%6.5%
 Community, social services1.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock2.2%1.2%
 Education, library22.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.0%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology3.5%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.4%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.2%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.0%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.9%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support15.7%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair2.0%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock12.1%13.1%
Reviews for West Lafayette    11 Reviews

I am originally from Greencastle, Indiana, a nice friendly rural town and home to DePauw University. Presently, I live in West Lafayette, Indiana, due to my having been  More

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Over 11 years ago

It's a nice small town. It's too bad it's not closer to Indy. I think I would like it here  More

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Over 14 years ago

They have good schools, parks and always have events to  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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