Moving from Illinois to South Carolina
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 South Carolina, side by side.
Moving to South Carolina costs about
-$240/mo
less than Illinois each month, renting
Worth knowing
The move pays for itself in about 11 months
Moving costs somewhere around $2,402, and South Carolina runs about $240 a month cheaper. After roughly 11 months you are ahead.
Illinois vs South Carolina at a glance
| Illinois | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $263,300 | $259,000 |
| Median rent | $1,274/mo | $1,180/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 4.95% | Up to 6.00% |
| Property tax rate | 2.01% | 0.48% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 104 | 96 |
| Utilities | 85 | 88 |
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 | SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,274 | $1,180 | -$94 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $318 | $304 | -$14 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $95 | $88 | -$7 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goodsBiggest factor | $1,904 | $1,766 | -$137 |
| Utilities | $347 | $361 | +$14 |
| Total | -$240 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,000 to $4,500
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $550 to $800, 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 Greenville is not South Carolina-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.