Moving from Rhode Island to Illinois
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 Rhode Island and Illinois, side by side.
Moving to Illinois costs about
-$90/mo
less than Rhode Island each month, renting
Worth knowing
A cheaper house in Illinois, a bigger property tax bill
The median home in Illinois costs $263,300 against $404,200 in Rhode Island, but you would pay about $5,292 a year in property tax rather than $4,891. The rate more than cancels the lower price.
Rhode Island vs Illinois at a glance
| Rhode Island | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $404,200 | $263,300 |
| Median rent | $1,342/mo | $1,274/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 5.99% | Flat 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 1.21% | 2.01% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 97 | 104 |
| Utilities | 147 | 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 | RI | IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,342 | $1,274 | -$68 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $199 | $318 | +$119 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $111 | $95 | -$16 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,781 | $1,904 | +$122 |
| UtilitiesBiggest factor | $599 | $347 | -$252 |
| Total | -$90 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,400 to $5,400
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $650 to $1,000, against roughly $400 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 3-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Providence is not Rhode Island-average and Chicago is not Illinois-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.