Chicago Airports Compared: ORD vs MDW
Chicago splits cleanly two ways: O’Hare (ORD) is the international giant on the city’s northwest edge — 128 recorded destinations across roughly 39 carriers in our snapshot — while Midway (MDW) is the close-in, Southwest-dominated domestic field with 72 recorded destinations on about 6 carriers. The Blue Line gets you from ORD downtown for $5, the Orange Line from MDW for $2.50 — and the right airport depends less on the fare than on which side of the city you’re staying on.
Chicago Airports Compared: ORD vs MDW: questions people actually ask
How many airports does Chicago have?
Two commercial airports: O’Hare (ORD) northwest of the city and Midway (MDW) southwest — about 45–60 road-minutes apart.
How do I get from O’Hare to downtown Chicago?
The CTA Blue Line runs 24/7 from the airport to the Loop in about 45 minutes for $5. Taxis and rideshares cost roughly $35–50 off-peak, more in rush hour.
Which Chicago airport is cheapest to fly into?
Midway, usually — Southwest and the point-to-point carriers dominate it and the Orange Line gets you downtown in 20–25 minutes for $2.50. Compare both airports for your dates; the fare gap varies by route.
Is Midway or O’Hare closer to downtown?
Midway — 11 miles out with a 20–25 minute Orange Line ride. O’Hare is 17 miles away and about 45 minutes on the Blue Line, but its network is far wider.
ORD — O’Hare: the long-haul hub on the northwest side
O’Hare is where Chicago’s intercontinental routes live: our route database records around 128 destinations served by roughly 39 carriers, with United and American both running major hubs here alongside the European, Asian and Middle East gateways. It sits 17 miles northwest of the Loop — close on a map, 35–90 minutes by road depending on the Kennedy Expressway’s mood.
The transit story is the best of any big US hub: the CTA Blue Line runs 24/7 from an underground station between terminals to downtown in about 45 minutes for $5 — a flat airport supplement on the normal fare. Taxis and rideshares run roughly $35–50 off-peak and surge hard at peak. Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest and North Central Service lines serve the suburbs for commuters, not most visitors.
Choose ORD when: you fly international, long-haul or on a full-service alliance — and when your hotel sits north or northwest of the Loop.
MDW — Midway: the close-in Southwest field
Midway sits just 11 miles southwest of the Loop and runs a fundamentally different model: our snapshot records 72 destinations on about 6 carriers, with Southwest’s base dominating a mostly domestic map plus a handful of Caribbean and Mexico routes. Fares on the point-to-point carriers here undercut O’Hare regularly — that is the whole reason to consider it.
The Orange Line is its superpower: trains reach the Loop in 20–25 minutes for $2.50, making MDW arguably the fastest airport-to-downtown rail trip in America. A taxi runs $30–40 in normal traffic. The trade-offs: no long-haul service, thinner schedules after 22:00, and a single-terminal airport that is easy but far from the north side.
Choose MDW when: the fare is right, your trip is domestic, and your destination is downtown or the south side.
ORD or MDW: how to decide
The airports are 45–60 road-minutes apart on opposite sides of the city, so an itinerary that lands at one and needs the other is a real cost. The arithmetic that matters: a $60 saving on a Midway fare is pure profit if you’re staying on Printers Row, and a false economy if your conference is in Evanston. For international arrivals, ORD is effectively the only option; for a weekend trip from a Southwest city, MDW usually wins both time and money.
Our recorded counts (ORD 128 vs MDW 72) frame the network gap; the fare for your dates comes from the search form — and the transfer gets priced against your hotel, not against downtown in the abstract.
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