Moving from Illinois to Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin, side by side.
Moving to Wisconsin costs about
-$390/mo
less than Illinois each month, renting
Worth knowing
The move pays for itself in about 5 months
Moving costs somewhere around $1,880, and Wisconsin runs about $390 a month cheaper. After roughly 5 months you are ahead.
Illinois vs Wisconsin at a glance
| Illinois | Wisconsin | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $263,300 | $266,500 |
| Median rent | $1,274/mo | $1,087/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 4.95% | Up to 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 2.01% | 1.42% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 104 | 94 |
| Utilities | 85 | 90 |
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 | WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,274 | $1,087 | -$187 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $318 | $288 | -$30 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $95 | $73 | -$22 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,904 | $1,729 | -$175 |
| Utilities | $347 | $367 | +$20 |
| Total | -$390 | ||
What the move itself costs
$1,600 to $3,700
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $400 to $650, against roughly $50 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 1-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Chicago is not Illinois-average and Milwaukee is not Wisconsin-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.