Moving from South Dakota to Illinois
South Dakota to Illinois is a move of about 799 miles. Median rent is $1,274 a month in Illinois and $946 in South Dakota, and the median home is $263,300 against $257,400. South Dakota has no state income tax, against a flat 4.95% in Illinois. Property tax runs 2.01% of home value in Illinois and 1.06% in South Dakota.
Moving to Illinois costs about
$860/mo
more than South Dakota 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 South Dakota to Illinois, housing (median rent) moves the most: about $328 a month more.
South Dakota vs Illinois at a glance
| South Dakota | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $257,400 | $263,300 |
| Median rent | $946/mo | $1,274/mo |
| State income tax | No state income tax | Flat 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 1.06% | 2.01% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 95 | 104 |
| Utilities | 80 | 85 |
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: South Dakota vs Illinois
| Monthly | SD | IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $946 | $1,274 | +$328 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $0 | $318 | +$318 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $59 | $95 | +$36 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,750 | $1,904 | +$154 |
| Utilities | $325 | $347 | +$22 |
| Total | +$858 | ||
Cost to move from South Dakota to Illinois
$2,000 to $4,600
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $550 to $850, against roughly $250 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 2-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Sioux Falls is not South Dakota-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
What jobs pay in Illinois, 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.