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Chicago → San Francisco flights

Median Chicago to San Francisco fare is $124 over a 12-day sample — watch for occasional dips well below that.

Chicago–SF fares hover near $124, but outliers dip to $57

Key takeaways

Median fare sits at $124, with the bottom quartile at $96 or less
Low of $57 shows real discounts surface occasionally, though they're not the norm
High end tops out at $139, keeping most fares within a fairly tight band
Spread of 144% looks large but is driven by a single low outlier against a cluster near $100–$139
Sample is thin at just 12 snapshots, so treat these patterns as directional, not definitive

30-day price trend

ORD → SFO · cheapest cached fare per day · last 13 days · ↓ 33%

$57 low$139 high

See full numbers and stats on the ORD → SFO price history page.

The full picture

The data shows a median fare of $124 for Chicago to San Francisco, with most observed prices clustering between $96 (25th percentile) and $124 (75th percentile). That's a relatively narrow band for the bulk of fares, suggesting that if you're seeing something in the $100-$125 range, you're paying a typical price rather than overpaying. The $57 low is the outlier here — it pulls the spread percentage up to 144%, but it represents one snapshot out of twelve, not a reliable target.

With only 12 days of snapshots, we can't responsibly speak to a specific booking window that reliably softens prices — that requires more sustained data showing a trend over time, which this sample doesn't provide. What we can say is that the gap between the low and the median ($124 vs $57) suggests occasional deep discounts do appear on this route, so it's worth checking fares more than once if your travel dates are flexible, rather than booking the first price you see.

We don't have enough visibility into carrier-level data here to identify a dominant airline or any day-of-week patterns — the payload doesn't surface that detail for this route. The honest caveat: with a 12-day sample, this snapshot captures a narrow window in time, and fare environments for this route can shift with seasonality, fuel costs, and competitive capacity changes that a two-week look can't fully capture. Treat the $124 median as a reasonable benchmark for comparison, but don't treat the $57 low as something to expect on demand.

Ready to look at fares?

Search ORD → SFO on Aviasales →See the price history →

Related travel pages

Why we regenerated this article: Bottom quartile ↓ 23% ($124 → $96). We only rewrite when the underlying price index actually moves — stable weeks keep the previous take.

AI-authored from this route's 30-day price index. Article last regenerated Oct 10, 2026. Fares shift continuously — confirm at booking.