Moving to Illinois from Connecticut
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Connecticut to Illinois — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Connecticut to Illinois, you would find that Illinois is 20.9% cheaper than Connecticut. A $75,000 salary in Connecticut would need to be roughly $59,300 in Illinois to maintain the same lifestyle. Bridgeport and Chicago are about 750 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Illinois? Get a shortlist of towns in Illinois that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Illinois cheaper than Connecticut?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 23.1% less
Groceries
pay 17.4% less
Transportation
pay 3.1% more
Housing
pay 35.7% less
Childcare
pay 29.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.9% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Illinois?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $59,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Illinois
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Illinois cost about 16% less than cities in Connecticut.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Connecticut to Illinois.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Connecticut performs better than Illinois across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Connecticut performs better than Illinois across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Illinois performs significantly better than Connecticut across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Connecticut performs better than Illinois across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Connecticut performs better than Illinois across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Connecticut performs better than Illinois across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Illinois vs Connecticut
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Bridgeport | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 42°/23°F (6°/-5°C) | 38°/22°F (3°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/49°F (20°/10°C) | 70°/48°F (21°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 80°/62°F (26°/16°C) | 80°/60°F (27°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 53°/34°F (12°/1°C) | 48°/32°F (9°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Bridgeport | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38°/20°F (3.1°/-6.9°C) | 31°/17°F (-0.6°/-8.6°C) |
| Feb | 41°/21°F (4.9°/-6.0°C) | 35°/20°F (1.8°/-6.6°C) |
| Mar | 47°/29°F (8.6°/-1.7°C) | 47°/29°F (8.1°/-1.6°C) |
| Apr | 59°/40°F (15.1°/4.2°C) | 59°/39°F (15.0°/3.8°C) |
| May | 68°/49°F (20.2°/9.6°C) | 70°/48°F (21.1°/9.1°C) |
| Jun | 78°/59°F (25.7°/15.1°C) | 80°/58°F (26.5°/14.5°C) |
| Jul | 83°/65°F (28.1°/18.3°C) | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) |
| Aug | 82°/64°F (27.6°/17.7°C) | 82°/63°F (27.7°/17.2°C) |
| Sep | 75°/56°F (23.7°/13.1°C) | 75°/54°F (23.8°/12.4°C) |
| Oct | 63°/44°F (17.4°/6.5°C) | 62°/43°F (16.8°/6.0°C) |
| Nov | 54°/34°F (12.1°/1.3°C) | 48°/32°F (9.0°/0.2°C) |
| Dec | 43°/24°F (6.1°/-4.2°C) | 35°/21°F (1.6°/-6.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Illinois than Connecticut?
Yes — Illinois is on average about 21% cheaper than Connecticut. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Illinois?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $14,825 in Illinois on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Illinois safe?
Connecticut performs better than Illinois across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Illinois compared to Connecticut?
Connecticut performs better than Illinois across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Illinois compared to Connecticut?
The average high temperature in Chicago is 59°F, compared to 61°F in Bridgeport. Chicago receives around 36.9 in of rainfall per year, while Bridgeport gets 47.7 in.
