Illinois cost of living
Prices in Illinois run at 100.0 against a national average of 100, which makes it the 18th most expensive of the 51 jurisdictions. Housing is the part that separates states: rents there sit at 93.9.
Where the difference actually is
Illinois sits at 100.0, which is as close to the national average as this series gets. It ranks #18 of 51 states, in the middle by construction rather than by coincidence.
The parts move together here rather than pulling against each other: goods at 103.8, rents at 93.9, other services at 85.0. When the components agree, the headline number is a fair summary of the whole cost of living rather than a proxy for rent.
The number is most useful in reverse: a job here can pay less in cash and still leave a household better off, by roughly 0 per cent before anything else is considered.
The vertical line is the national average of 100. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024.
What it costs, in actual money
Parities are ratios. These are the figures behind them for Illinois, drawn from the other datasets on this site.
| Illinois | |
|---|---|
| Median home value | $250,500 |
| Median gross rent | $1,227 a month |
| Median household income | $81,702 |
| Average electricity bill | $132 a month |
| Effective property tax | 2.07% |
Metro areas in Illinois
Within a state, cities and rural areas diverge sharply. A statewide parity averages over that.
| Metro area | All items | Goods | Rents | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 103.6 | 107.3 | 112.0 | #40 |
| Kankakee | 96.4 | 93.6 | 92.9 | #140 |
| St. Louis | 95.1 | 100.0 | 79.0 | #167 |
| Bloomington | 93.5 | 93.6 | 74.7 | #195 |
| Champaign-Urbana | 92.7 | 93.6 | 71.6 | #218 |
| Springfield | 92.7 | 93.6 | 71.6 | #222 |
| Rockford | 92.2 | 93.6 | 70.1 | #238 |
| Peoria | 91.2 | 93.6 | 63.8 | #264 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | 89.1 | 94.2 | 68.3 | #309 |
| Decatur | 88.4 | 93.6 | 56.2 | #326 |
| Cape Girardeau | 86.1 | 94.2 | 56.4 | #363 |
| Paducah | 86.1 | 96.0 | 48.8 | #364 |
Illinois cost of living: common questions
Is Illinois expensive to live in?
Prices overall are 0% below the national average, at a parity of 100.0 where 100 is the country as a whole. It ranks #18 of 51. Goods run at 103.8, rents at 93.9 and other services at 85.0.
What is a salary in Illinois really worth?
The median wage there is $50,000. Adjusted for local prices that buys what $50,000 buys nationally. A state that pays well and costs more can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows it.
What is a regional price parity?
An official measure from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of what a dollar buys in one place against the national average, set at 100. It is built from the same price collection that underlies the consumer price index, extended to compare places rather than time periods. It is the only government measure of cost of living differences between states.
Why is housing treated separately?
Because it carries most of the difference. In Illinois rents sit 6.1 points below the state's overall parity. Goods barely vary between states, since most of them are shipped nationally; services vary more; housing varies enormously. Any cost of living comparison that does not separate housing is mostly measuring housing anyway.