Moving from Tennessee to Illinois
Tennessee to Illinois is a move of about 410 miles. Median rent is $1,274 a month in Illinois and $1,189 in Tennessee, and the median home is $263,300 against $286,700. Tennessee has no state income tax, against a flat 4.95% in Illinois. Property tax runs 2.01% of home value in Illinois and 0.50% in Tennessee.
Moving to Illinois costs about
$590/mo
more than Tennessee each month, renting on a $80,000 household income
Not your income? Run it on your own numbers
Worth knowing
State income tax is what separates these two states
Of everything that changes when you move from Tennessee to Illinois, state income tax moves the most: about $318 a month more.
Tennessee vs Illinois at a glance
| Tennessee | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $286,700 | $263,300 |
| Median rent | $1,189/mo | $1,274/mo |
| State income tax | No state income tax | Flat 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.50% | 2.01% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 104 |
| Utilities | 72 | 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: Tennessee vs Illinois
| Monthly | TN | IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,189 | $1,274 | +$85 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income taxBiggest factor | $0 | $318 | +$318 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $99 | $95 | -$4 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,765 | $1,904 | +$139 |
| Utilities | $295 | $347 | +$52 |
| Total | +$590 | ||
Cost to move from Tennessee to Illinois
$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. Nashville is not Tennessee-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.