Chicago or New York?

1,167 km apart, both in United States. Each is scored month by month on the same ten years of climate readings, the public holidays that crowd it, and what the flight costs. This is where they part, and when.

• Chicago United States · best May, Jun, Sep
• New York United States · best Apr, May, Jun

Month by month

Each cell is that destination's own verdict for the month — sweet spot, ok or avoid — with its typical daily high and its rainy days ("11d"). The pick goes to the better verdict; with the same verdict, to the higher score, unless the two are within a whisker of each other, when it is either. A month both would avoid is neither. A dot marks a busy month.

Before you go

Both are in United States, so the currency, the plugs and the travel advice are the same: type A and B plugs, driving on the right, paying in the United states dollar. Everything for United States.

Between them

1,167 km as the crow flies, about 2h 20m in the air.By bus, about 21h 53m · Greyhound US0164 · Greyhound US0420.

The flight time is estimated from the distance. A road, train or bus is named only where it was measured — flights from AeroDataBox, roads from OpenRouteService, timetables via Transitous — and none of it is a fare; the searches on each destination's page are where prices live.

Also compared

• Chicago or Boston
• Chicago or Los Angeles
• Chicago or Mexico City
• Chicago or Miami
• Chicago or San Francisco
• Chicago or Seattle
• Chicago or Toronto
• Chicago or Vancouver
• New York or Boston
• New York or Los Angeles
• New York or Mexico City
• New York or Miami

Every verdict here is the destination's own: ten years of climate readings, the public holidays that crowd it, and what the flight costs. The comparison is the difference between two pages, not a third opinion.