Moving from Illinois to Colorado
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is Illinois and Colorado, side by side.
Moving to Colorado costs about
+$260/mo
more than Illinois each month, renting
Worth knowing
Homes cost 2.0x more in Colorado, but the tax rate is lower
Colorado taxes property at 0.48% against 2.01% in Illinois. Despite the far higher prices, you would actually pay LESS property tax there: about $2,589 a year against $5,292.
Illinois vs Colorado at a glance
| Illinois | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $263,300 | $539,400 |
| Median rent | $1,274/mo | $1,761/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 4.95% | Flat 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 2.01% | 0.48% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 104 | 99 |
| Utilities | 85 | 85 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | IL | CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,274 | $1,761 | +$487 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $318 | $234 | -$84 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $95 | $43 | -$52 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,904 | $1,810 | -$94 |
| Utilities | $347 | $347 | $0 |
| Total | +$260 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,400 to $5,200
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $650 to $900, against roughly $250 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 2-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Chicago is not Illinois-average and Denver is not Colorado-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
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.