Moving from Illinois to New Jersey
Illinois to New Jersey is a move of about 957 miles. Median rent is $1,720 a month in New Jersey and $1,274 in Illinois, and the median home is $454,400 against $263,300. State income tax is up to 10.75% in New Jersey and a flat 4.95% in Illinois. Property tax runs 2.11% of home value in New Jersey and 2.01% in Illinois.
Moving to New Jersey costs about
$560/mo
more than Illinois each month, renting on a $80,000 household income
Not your income? Run it on your own numbers
Worth knowing
Housing (median rent) is what separates these two states
Of everything that changes when you move from Illinois to New Jersey, housing (median rent) moves the most: about $446 a month more, which is most of the whole difference.
Illinois vs New Jersey at a glance
| Illinois | New Jersey | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $263,300 | $454,400 |
| Median rent | $1,274/mo | $1,720/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 4.95% | Up to 10.75% |
| Property tax rate | 2.01% | 2.11% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 104 | 107 |
| Utilities | 85 | 114 |
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: Illinois vs New Jersey
| Monthly | IL | NJ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,274 | $1,720 | +$446 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $318 | $242 | -$76 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $95 | $106 | +$11 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,904 | $1,963 | +$59 |
| Utilities | $347 | $466 | +$119 |
| Total | +$559 | ||
Cost to move from Illinois to New Jersey
$2,200 to $5,000
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $650 to $1,000, 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 Trenton is not New Jersey-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 New Jersey, 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.