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State relocation profile · Federal data

Illinois

Cost of living, fair-market rent, wages, safety, schools and childcare for Illinois - every figure straight from federal data.

100.0
Cost index (US=100)
$1,063
2BR rent / mo
$74,900
Median salary
51.7
Life Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Illinois scores 51.7/100 (D) on the composite Life Score, with its strongest marks in rent and wages.

51.7
Life Score · D
100.0
Cost of living (US=100)
$74,900
Median annual salary (BLS)
$1,063
2BR fair-market rent / mo (HUD)

Weakest dimension: environment (30/100). State-level figures are a benchmark, individual metros can diverge sharply, so weigh each dimension against your own priorities.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and five other federal agencies, Illinois has a cost-of-living index of 100.0 (100 = national average), a median 2-bedroom rent of $1,063/mo, and a median salary of $74,900. Its composite Life Score is 51.7/100 (D), with its strongest marks in rent and wages.

How Illinois ranks nationally

Where Illinois's composite Life Score falls among all 51 US states scored.

Life Score distribution - Illinois marked 0 US states at 0–10 0 0 US states at 10–20 10 0 US states at 20–30 20 5 US states at 30–40 5 30 16 US states at 40–50 16 40 24 US states at 50–60 24 50 6 US states at 60–70 6 60 0 US states at 70–80 70 0 US states at 80–90 80 0 US states at 90–100 90 Life Score →
Top 47% by Life Score Higher Life Score than 53% of all 51 US states.

Illinois has life score of 51.7. Distribution: 0 US states at 0-10; 0 US states at 10-20; 0 US states at 20-30; 5 US states at 30-40; 16 US states at 40-50; 24 US states at 50-60; 6 US states at 60-70; 0 US states at 70-80; 0 US states at 80-90; 0 US states at 90-100.

Evaluating Illinois as a relocation target starts with the statewide BEA Regional Price Parity of 100.0 - where 100 is the national average, so every point above or below translates to percent-level cost of living difference. Housing costs in Illinois index at 93.9, goods at 103.8, and services at 85.0. HUD Fair Market Rents averaged across Illinois counties put a 2-bedroom at $1,063/month, the figure HUD uses to cap Section 8 voucher payments, so it reflects real submarket rents rather than listings bias.

On the income side, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a statewide median salary of $74,900 with a mean of $78,789 across 6,050,620 tracked jobs. For safety context, FBI UCR data shows a violent crime rate of 277 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1665 per 100K. These state-level reads let you benchmark Illinois against both your origin state and national medians before zooming into specific metros.

Family and education costs often decide a move. Department of Labor data for Illinois shows center-based infant care running $12,257/year, preschool at $9,481/year, and toddler care at $10,556/year. Illinois contains 8 metropolitan statistical areas in our dataset - Bloomington, Champaign-Urbana, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and more - each with its own rent, wage and crime profile that can diverge sharply from the statewide average. The composite Life Score of 51.7/100 (D) folds all seven federal sources into one number for quick comparison.

Key Metrics

Cost of Living (RPP)
100.0
100 = national avg
Avg 2BR Rent (FMR)
$1,063
per month
Median Salary
$74,900
annual
Violent Crime Rate
277
per 100K

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for Illinois (DOL data).

Infant (Center)
$12,257
per year
Toddler (Center)
$10,556
per year
Preschool (Center)
$9,481
per year

Life Score Breakdown

Illinois's composite Life Score is 51.7/100 (D), computed across 7 dimensions.

Strongest dimension: Rent (72/100)

Illinois - Life Score dimensions

Percentile vs all US states (100 = best in the nation for that dimension)

/100

What this shows Illinois's strongest dimensions are rent and wages; its weakest is environment at 30/100. Each dimension is a federal-data percentile; the composite folds all seven into one comparable figure.

Source BEA · HUD · BLS · FBI · NCES · DOL · EPA As of Federal data, latest available vintage
Cost
36/100
Below average
Wages
70/100
Strong
Rent
72/100
Strong
Crime
54/100
Average
Schools
54/100
Average
Childcare
32/100
Weak
Environment
30/100
Weak

Metros in Illinois

Explore detailed relocation data for 8 metropolitan areas in Illinois.

Bloomington, IL Champaign-Urbana, IL Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Decatur, IL Kankakee, IL Peoria, IL Rockford, IL Springfield, IL

Relocation Guides

In-depth guides to help with your relocation research.

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Cost vs. Quality of Life

How cost of living correlates with livability across US metros.

Best Cities for Remote Workers

Top metros for remote workers optimizing for cost, safety, and lifestyle.

Relocating within or to Illinois?

State figures are the benchmark, drill into a metro before you commit.

  • Illinois has 8 metro areas with rent, wage and crime profiles that diverge from the statewide average, start with Bloomington. View Bloomington
  • Put two places on the same scorecard across cost, rent, wages, safety and schools before you decide. Compare metros
  • See how every US metro ranks on the composite LiveAbility Score, then re-weight it to your priorities. Rankings

Cost, rent and wages are state-level reads; safety, schools and childcare use state data where metro-level isn't published. Always verify the latest figures at the official source before you move.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cost of living in Illinois?
Illinois has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 100.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 93.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom fair market rent is $1,063/month.
What is the median salary in Illinois?
The median salary in Illinois is $74,900 annually (mean: $78,789). Total employment across the state is 6,050,620.
How safe is Illinois?
The violent crime rate in Illinois is 277 per 100,000 population. The property crime rate is 1665 per 100K.
How much does childcare cost in Illinois?
Infant center-based childcare in Illinois averages $12,257 per year. Preschool averages $9,481/year. Toddler care averages $10,556/year. These are state-level averages from the Department of Labor.
How many metro areas are in Illinois?
Illinois has 8 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by PlainRelocate, including Bloomington, Champaign-Urbana, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and 5 more.
Is Illinois a good state to relocate to?
Illinois has a Life Score of 51.7/100 (D), based on 7 dimensions: cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment. This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US states; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Data Sources

  • Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
  • Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
  • Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
  • Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
  • Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
  • Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL)
  • Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

This information is for research purposes only.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainRelocate is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.