Moving to Illinois from Indiana
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Indiana to Illinois — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Indiana to Illinois, you would find that Illinois is 12.4% more expensive than Indiana. A $75,000 salary in Indiana would need to be roughly $84,300 in Illinois to maintain the same lifestyle. Indianapolis and Chicago are about 160 mi apart.
Is Illinois cheaper than Indiana?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 6.1% more
Groceries
pay 9.0% more
Transportation
pay 18.7% more
Housing
pay 11.5% more
Childcare
pay 19.8% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 20.3% 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.
What salary do you need in Illinois?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $84,300
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 6% more than cities in Indiana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Indiana to Illinois.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Indiana generally does better on safety, though Illinois leads in violent crime rate.
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
Illinois performs significantly better than Indiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Indiana performs better than Illinois across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Indiana generally does better on infrastructure, though Illinois leads in internet access.
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
Illinois generally does better on employment & economy, though Indiana leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Illinois performs significantly better than Indiana 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 Indiana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Indianapolis | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 42°/26°F (6°/-3°C) | 38°/22°F (3°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/53°F (22°/12°C) | 70°/48°F (21°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 81°/63°F (27°/17°C) | 80°/60°F (27°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/35°F (11°/2°C) | 48°/32°F (9°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Indianapolis | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35°/21°F (1.7°/-6.1°C) | 31°/17°F (-0.6°/-8.6°C) |
| Feb | 40°/24°F (4.4°/-4.4°C) | 35°/20°F (1.8°/-6.6°C) |
| Mar | 51°/33°F (10.8°/0.8°C) | 47°/29°F (8.1°/-1.6°C) |
| Apr | 63°/44°F (17.1°/6.4°C) | 59°/39°F (15.0°/3.8°C) |
| May | 72°/53°F (22.5°/11.7°C) | 70°/48°F (21.1°/9.1°C) |
| Jun | 81°/63°F (27.4°/17.4°C) | 80°/58°F (26.5°/14.5°C) |
| Jul | 84°/67°F (28.8°/19.2°C) | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) |
| Aug | 83°/65°F (28.4°/18.3°C) | 82°/63°F (27.7°/17.2°C) |
| Sep | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.9°C) | 75°/54°F (23.8°/12.4°C) |
| Oct | 64°/45°F (18.0°/7.3°C) | 62°/43°F (16.8°/6.0°C) |
| Nov | 52°/36°F (11.0°/2.3°C) | 48°/32°F (9.0°/0.2°C) |
| Dec | 38°/25°F (3.6°/-3.9°C) | 35°/21°F (1.6°/-6.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Illinois than Indiana?
No — Illinois is on average about 12% more expensive than Indiana. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Illinois?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $21,075 in Illinois on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Illinois safe?
Indiana generally does better on safety, though Illinois leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Illinois compared to Indiana?
Illinois performs significantly better than Indiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Illinois compared to Indiana?
The average high temperature in Chicago is 59°F, compared to 62°F in Indianapolis. Chicago receives around 36.9 in of rainfall per year, while Indianapolis gets 40.8 in.
