Rank #26 of 33
Chicago, IL
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
8.7
Tacos per hour at the local median wage
$2.84
Avg taco price
$24.76
Median hourly wage (2024)
$3.50
Fast-casual taqueria
$2.19
Taco Bell crunchy taco
Chicago sits below the national average. An hour of local work buys 8.7 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (−0.6 vs national average).
Local note
Chicago's Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods are among the most concentrated taqueria corridors in the country. Prices have crept up in recent years but the city retains a strong floor of $3–3.50 corn-tortilla street tacos, well below New York or Los Angeles benchmarks.
Where the numbers come from
Fast-casual: Pilsen / Little Village taquerias — Carnitas Don Pedro ($3.50 tacos de guisado), Atotonilco, Rubi's, Birrieria Reyes de Ocotlan. Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $2.19 (Midwest urban premium).
Average taco price ($2.84) is $0.07 above the national average of $2.77.
How this is calculated. Tacos per hour = median hourly wage ÷ average taco price.
Average taco price is the mean of the fast-casual taqueria anchor and the local Taco Bell crunchy taco price.
Wages come from BLS OEWS, May 2024, MSA-level median for all occupations.
Full methodology.