Moving from Alaska to Illinois
Alaska to Illinois means shipping by sea, not only driving. Median rent is $1,274 a month in Illinois and $1,419 in Alaska, and the median home is $263,300 against $352,900. Alaska has no state income tax, against a flat 4.95% in Illinois. Property tax runs 2.01% of home value in Illinois and 1.11% in Alaska.
Moving to Illinois costs about
$80/mo
more than Alaska each month, renting on a $80,000 household income
Not your income? Run it on your own numbers
Worth knowing
A cheaper house in Illinois, a bigger property tax bill
The median home in Illinois costs $263,300 against $352,900 in Alaska, but you would pay about $5,292 a year in property tax rather than $3,917. The rate more than cancels the lower price.
Alaska vs Illinois at a glance
| Alaska | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $352,900 | $263,300 |
| Median rent | $1,419/mo | $1,274/mo |
| State income tax | No state income tax | Flat 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 1.11% | 2.01% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 106 | 104 |
| Utilities | 119 | 85 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
Monthly cost of living: Alaska vs Illinois
| Monthly | AK | IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,419 | $1,274 | -$145 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income taxBiggest factor | $0 | $318 | +$318 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $0 | $95 | +$95 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,949 | $1,904 | -$45 |
| Utilities | $486 | $347 | -$139 |
| Total | +$84 | ||
Cost to move from Alaska to Illinois
$5,300 to $11,500
A move involving Alaska goes by sea rather than road, so the range is wider and rougher.
Shipping one car adds about $1,500 to $2,500, against roughly $1,450 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 8-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Anchorage is not Alaska-average and Chicago is not Illinois-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
What jobs pay in Illinois, after the cost of living
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.