Moving from Washington 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 Washington and Illinois, side by side.
Moving to Illinois costs about
-$220/mo
less than Washington each month, renting
Worth knowing
A cheaper house in Illinois, a bigger property tax bill
The median home in Illinois costs $263,300 against $564,600 in Washington, but you would pay about $5,292 a year in property tax rather than $4,573. The rate more than cancels the lower price.
Washington vs Illinois at a glance
| Washington | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $564,600 | $263,300 |
| Median rent | $1,760/mo | $1,274/mo |
| State income tax | No state income tax | Flat 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 2.01% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 104 | 104 |
| Utilities | 93 | 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 | WA | IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,760 | $1,274 | -$486 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $0 | $318 | +$318 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $101 | $95 | -$7 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,913 | $1,904 | -$10 |
| Utilities | $379 | $347 | -$32 |
| Total | -$220 | ||
What the move itself costs
$3,400 to $7,400
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $900 to $1,350, against roughly $650 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 4-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Seattle is not Washington-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.