Moving from Illinois to Vermont
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 Vermont, side by side.
Moving to Vermont costs about
-$70/mo
less than Illinois each month, renting
Worth knowing
Utilities cost 48% more in Vermont
Power, gas and water run about $167 a month more in Vermont than in Illinois. It is the cost people forget to check, and over a year it is roughly $2,003.
Illinois vs Vermont at a glance
| Illinois | Vermont | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $263,300 | $316,600 |
| Median rent | $1,274/mo | $1,234/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 4.95% | Up to 8.75% |
| Property tax rate | 2.01% | 1.59% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 104 | 97 |
| Utilities | 85 | 126 |
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 | VT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,274 | $1,234 | -$40 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $318 | $246 | -$72 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $95 | $93 | -$2 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,904 | $1,783 | -$120 |
| UtilitiesBiggest factor | $347 | $514 | +$167 |
| Total | -$70 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,400 to $5,300
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $650 to $950, against roughly $400 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 3-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Chicago is not Illinois-average and Burlington is not Vermont-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.