Moving to Illinois from Kentucky
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Kentucky to Illinois — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Kentucky to Illinois, you would find that Illinois is 16.4% more expensive than Kentucky. A $75,000 salary in Kentucky would need to be roughly $81,616 in Illinois to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Kentucky to Illinois.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $81,616
To maintain the same standard of living in Illinois
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 6.2% more
Groceries
pay 7.3% more
Transportation
pay 25.2% more
Housing
pay 13.7% more
Childcare
pay 18.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 26.6% 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.
Key Indicator Comparison
How Kentucky 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
Kentucky 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
Illinois generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kentucky leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Kentucky 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
Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky across all family life metrics.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Bowling Green | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 52°/31°F (11°/-1°C) | 42°/25°F (6°/-4°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 78°/55°F (25°/13°C) | 74°/52°F (23°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/64°F (30°/18°C) | 83°/61°F (29°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 59°/38°F (15°/3°C) | 52°/33°F (11°/1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Bowling Green | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45°/26°F (7.2°/-3.1°C) | 35°/19°F (1.6°/-7.4°C) |
| Feb | 50°/30°F (10.0°/-1.3°C) | 40°/23°F (4.4°/-5.2°C) |
| Mar | 60°/37°F (15.4°/2.8°C) | 52°/32°F (11.2°/0.1°C) |
| Apr | 70°/46°F (20.9°/7.6°C) | 65°/42°F (18.1°/5.8°C) |
| May | 78°/55°F (25.4°/12.8°C) | 75°/53°F (23.8°/11.4°C) |
| Jun | 86°/64°F (30.1°/17.7°C) | 83°/62°F (28.4°/16.6°C) |
| Jul | 89°/68°F (31.9°/19.9°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.6°C) |
| Aug | 89°/66°F (31.6°/18.9°C) | 85°/64°F (29.4°/17.6°C) |
| Sep | 82°/58°F (27.8°/14.4°C) | 79°/55°F (26.1°/12.6°C) |
| Oct | 71°/46°F (21.8°/7.9°C) | 66°/44°F (19.1°/6.6°C) |
| Nov | 59°/38°F (15.2°/3.1°C) | 52°/34°F (11.3°/1.1°C) |
| Dec | 48°/29°F (8.8°/-1.6°C) | 38°/22°F (3.5°/-5.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Illinois than Kentucky?
Day-to-day costs in Illinois run about 9% higher than Kentucky 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 $20,404 in Illinois for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Illinois safe?
Kentucky performs better than Illinois across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Illinois compared to Kentucky?
Illinois generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kentucky leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Illinois compared to Kentucky?
The average high temperature in Springfield is 63°F, compared to 69°F in Bowling Green. Springfield receives around 37.4 in of rainfall per year, while Bowling Green gets 49.9 in.
