Moving to Illinois from Idaho
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Idaho to Illinois — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Idaho to Illinois, you would find that Illinois is 6.7% more expensive than Idaho. A $75,000 salary in Idaho would need to be roughly $80,000 in Illinois to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Idaho to Illinois.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $80,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Illinois
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 5.4% more
Groceries
pay 7.7% more
Transportation
pay 14.2% more
Housing
pay 1.5% more
Childcare
pay 16.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.8% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
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 1% less than cities in Idaho.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Idaho and Illinois stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho 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
Idaho generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Illinois leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Idaho generally does better on what about housing?, though Illinois leads in median home value.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Idaho 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
Idaho generally does better on employment & economy, though Illinois leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Idaho generally does better on family life, though Illinois leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
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
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Boise | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 42°/25°F (6°/-4°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/47°F (22°/8°C) | 74°/52°F (23°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/57°F (30°/14°C) | 83°/61°F (29°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 50°/32°F (10°/0°C) | 52°/33°F (11°/1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Boise | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38°/25°F (3.2°/-4.1°C) | 35°/19°F (1.6°/-7.4°C) |
| Feb | 45°/28°F (7.1°/-2.1°C) | 40°/23°F (4.4°/-5.2°C) |
| Mar | 55°/34°F (12.6°/1.3°C) | 52°/32°F (11.2°/0.1°C) |
| Apr | 62°/39°F (16.8°/4.1°C) | 65°/42°F (18.1°/5.8°C) |
| May | 72°/47°F (22.0°/8.1°C) | 75°/53°F (23.8°/11.4°C) |
| Jun | 81°/54°F (27.4°/12.1°C) | 83°/62°F (28.4°/16.6°C) |
| Jul | 91°/60°F (32.9°/15.8°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.6°C) |
| Aug | 90°/60°F (32.1°/15.3°C) | 85°/64°F (29.4°/17.6°C) |
| Sep | 79°/51°F (26.0°/10.6°C) | 79°/55°F (26.1°/12.6°C) |
| Oct | 65°/41°F (18.2°/4.9°C) | 66°/44°F (19.1°/6.6°C) |
| Nov | 48°/32°F (9.0°/-0.1°C) | 52°/34°F (11.3°/1.1°C) |
| Dec | 38°/24°F (3.1°/-4.4°C) | 38°/22°F (3.5°/-5.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Illinois than Idaho?
Day-to-day costs in Illinois run about 7% higher than Idaho on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Illinois?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $20,000 in Illinois for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Illinois safe?
Idaho performs better than Illinois across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Illinois compared to Idaho?
Idaho generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Illinois leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Illinois compared to Idaho?
The average high temperature in Springfield is 63°F, compared to 64°F in Boise. Springfield receives around 37.4 in of rainfall per year, while Boise gets 11.7 in.
