IL metros

Cost of living across major IL metropolitan areas.

What living in IL costs

Across the 3 IL metros we track, the typical cost-of-living index is 90.2 against a national metro median of 95.7 — about 6% cheaper than the typical US metro. That ranks IL 8 of the 48 states we cover, counting from the cheapest.

The state is not uniform: Peoria, IL is the cheapest metro at 88.8, while Chicago, IL runs 102.5 — a spread of 15% between them.

A typical IL home costs $221,368, or about 3.3× median household income, and typical rent is $1,319/mo.

Taxes in IL

IL levies a state income tax on top of the federal one. Effective property tax runs about 2.2% of home value in a typical IL metro, and combined state and local sales tax is around 8.9%.

Property tax is the one that scales with housing, so it bites hardest in the pricier metros above. Per-metro figures are on each metro page.

Metro	COL index	Median home	Median rent
Chicago, IL	102.5	$353,998	$2,266
Peoria, IL	88.8	$172,742	$1,179
Rockford, IL	90.2	$221,368	$1,319

Cities & towns in IL (189)

Local property tax, home values and school scores for each place.

Chicago →Aurora →Joliet →Naperville →Elgin →Peoria →Waukegan →Cicero →Schaumburg →Evanston →Arlington Heights →Bolingbrook →Palatine →Skokie →Des Plaines →Orland Park →Oak Lawn →Berwyn →Mount Prospect →Tinley Park →Oak Park →Wheaton →Hoffman Estates →Downers Grove →Glenview →Elmhurst →Plainfield →Lombard →Buffalo Grove →Moline →Belleville →Bartlett →DeKalb →Crystal Lake →Romeoville →Carol Stream →Streamwood →Park Ridge →Wheeling →Carpentersville →Rock Island →Hanover Park →Calumet City →Addison →Northbrook →Oswego →Woodridge →Glendale Heights →St. Charles →Elk Grove Village →O'Fallon →Pekin →Mundelein →North Chicago →Niles →Gurnee →Highland Park →Algonquin →Burbank →Lake in the Hills →Lansing →Glen Ellyn →Wilmette →Huntley →McHenry →Chicago Heights →New Lenox →Round Lake Beach →Oak Forest →Granite City →Vernon Hills →Edwardsville →Batavia →Lockport →Woodstock →Alton →West Chicago →Belvidere →Melrose Park →Morton Grove →Zion →Homer Glen →Collinsville →Elmwood Park →Westmont →Rolling Meadows →South Elgin →Lisle →Maywood →Loves Park →Blue Island →Roselle →Machesney Park →Villa Park →East Peoria →Bloomingdale →Darien →Geneva →South Holland →Dolton →Yorkville →Park Forest →East Moline →Grayslake →Montgomery →Libertyville →Frankfort →Harvey →Crest Hill →Mokena →Homewood →Lake Zurich →Evergreen Park →Lake Forest →Brookfield →Deerfield →Matteson →Alsip →East St. Louis →Round Lake →Bensenville →Bellwood →Franklin Park →Palos Hills →Sycamore →Shorewood →Cary →Godfrey →North Aurora →Lemont →Hinsdale →Bridgeview →Westchester →Morton →Country Club Hills →Fairview Heights →La Grange →Washington →Prospect Heights →Norridge →Hickory Hills →Swansea →Antioch →Morris →Lindenhurst →Chicago Ridge →Midlothian →Forest Park →Wauconda →Beach Park →Warrenville →Wood Dale →Shiloh →Channahon →Hazel Crest →Glen Carbon →Western Springs →La Grange Park →Lincolnwood →Richton Park →Northlake →Winnetka →Minooka →Justice →Kewanee →Centralia →Palos Heights →Schiller Park →Markham →River Forest →Barrington →Roscoe →Burr Ridge →Plano →Columbia →Summit →Waterloo →Troy →Gages Lake →Worth →Fox Lake →Crestwood →Lyons →Campton Hills →River Grove →Riverdale →Wood River →Highland →Pingree Grove →