State profile
Illinois Cost of Living Comparison
Illinois's 2024 price level is 99.958, a hair under the national level, but the mix is unusual: goods cost 3.83% more than the U.S. average while rents cost 6.06% less.
Updated
99.958Illinois all-items price level, U.S. = 100 · rank 33 of 51, lowest first
| Measure | Illinois | Nevada | First − second |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-items price level | 99.958 | 99.979 | −0.021 points |
| Rent price level | 93.944 | 114.135 | −20.191 points |
| Home value | $263,300±$797 | $435,400±$1,611 | −$172,100 |
| Two-bedroom gross rent | $1,284±$8 | $1,541±$15 | −$257 |
| Household income | $83,390±$362 | $78,260±$596 | +$5,130 |
| Real estate taxes paid | $5,298±$22 | $2,027±$23 | +$3,271 |
$4,000 of monthly spending in Illinois scales to $4,001 in Nevada at the 2024 all-items price ratio.
BEA 2024 and ACS 2020–2024; ± marks the Census 90% margin. How to read a gap
Illinois: dear goods, cheaper rents, heavy property taxes
Illinois inverts the usual pattern. In most states rents swing far more than goods, yet here goods, at 103.832, rank 43rd of 51 and sit above the national level, while the rent parity of 93.944 is below it and utilities (84.952) are 15.05% under the U.S. level. A renter moving in from a high-rent state gains; a household whose budget is mostly goods gains little.
Property taxes are the state's sharpest number. Owners paid a median $5,298 a year in real estate taxes, sixth-highest in the country, on homes with a median value of $263,300, which ranks only 32nd. Owners without a mortgage still report median monthly costs of $792, rank 10. Those bills go to local governments: property tax is just 0.1% of state collections.
The state government collected $71.31 billion in fiscal 2025, $5,606 per resident (rank 13). Individual income tax supplied 35.6%, general sales 22.9%, corporate income 17.4% and other selective sales, such as alcohol, tobacco, insurance-premium and utility taxes, 13.4%.
Incomes are slightly above average after adjusting for prices: real per capita personal income is $60,333, rank 17. Renters spend 29.1% of income on gross rent, rank 33, against a two-bedroom median of $1,284.
Every neighbour has a lower price level. Indiana (93.329) is the obvious comparison for Chicago-area households: its rent parity is 73.926 and its median real estate tax paid is $1,614, or $3,684 less a year than in Illinois. Iowa (87.762), Kentucky (90.159), Missouri (90.817) and Wisconsin (94.095) are cheaper still on the headline measure. Nationally, Nevada (99.979) is the closest price level.
Category price levels in Illinois
| Category | Parity | Rank, low first | vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 99.958 | 33 | 0.04% below |
| Goods | 103.832 | 43 | 3.83% above |
| Housing (rents) | 93.944 | 31 | 6.06% below |
| Utilities | 84.952 | 18 | 15.05% below |
| Other services | 100.156 | 29 | 0.16% above |
| Real income per person, 2017 $ | $60,333 | 17 | U.S. $59,195 |
All items by year: 2020 100.315 · 2021 101.321 · 2022 101.205 · 2023 98.752 · 2024 99.958 (−0.357 since 2020). How to read categories and trends
Monthly housing costs
- Owners with a mortgage
- $1,987±$6 · rank 18, high first
- Owners without a mortgage
- $792±$4 · rank 10
- Renters: gross rent / income
- 29.1%±0.2 · rank 33
Illinois state tax collections, FY2025
$71.31 billion in total, $5,606 per resident. Scope of these figures
| Tax | FY2025 | Share | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual income | $25.41 billion | 35.6% | $1,998 |
| General sales | $16.31 billion | 22.9% | $1,282 |
| Property | $64.4 million | 0.1% | $5 |
| Motor fuel | $2.91 billion | 4.1% | $229 |
| Other selective sales | $9.55 billion | 13.4% | $751 |
| Corporate income | $12.42 billion | 17.4% | $976 |
| Licenses | $3.94 billion | 5.5% | $310 |
| Severance | $0.0 million | 0.0% | $0 |
| Other taxes | $699.0 million | 1.0% | $55 |
Illinois income tax on wages
Illinois taxes an individual's net income at a single 4.95% rate, in effect since July 1, 2017, according to the Department of Revenue's rate table.
Read : Illinois Department of Revenue: income tax rates. Price parities exclude income taxes.
Illinois beside its neighbours
Before you budget a move
An Illinois comparison should separate qualifying retirement income from other household earnings when preparing taxes. The housing and price statistics on this page do not model plan eligibility or an income-tax return. Enter an approved annual liability for the actual mix of income before evaluating take-home resources.
For Chicago-area housing or another Illinois address, obtain the real property-tax bill and any expected change after purchase. The statewide taxes-paid median is a dollar observation across owner-occupied units. It cannot identify a municipality’s assessment base, exemptions or levies for a new owner.
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