Moving to Illinois from Montana
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Montana to Illinois — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Montana to Illinois, you would find that Illinois is 2.9% cheaper than Montana. A $75,000 salary in Montana would need to be roughly $72,800 in Illinois to maintain the same lifestyle. Billings and Chicago are about 1,050 mi apart.
Is Illinois cheaper than Montana?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 12.9% less
Groceries
pay 1.9% more
Transportation
pay 14.1% more
Housing
pay 9.9% less
Childcare
pay 7.8% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.2% 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 → $72,800
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 10% less than cities in Montana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Montana to Illinois.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Illinois performs significantly better than Montana 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
Montana 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
Montana 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
Montana 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
Montana 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
Montana 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
Weather in Illinois vs Montana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Billings | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 47°/20°F (8°/-7°C) | 38°/22°F (3°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) | 70°/48°F (21°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/52°F (30°/11°C) | 80°/60°F (27°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/25°F (11°/-4°C) | 48°/32°F (9°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Billings | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41°/16°F (4.8°/-9.1°C) | 31°/17°F (-0.6°/-8.6°C) |
| Feb | 45°/19°F (7.3°/-7.3°C) | 35°/20°F (1.8°/-6.6°C) |
| Mar | 54°/26°F (12.3°/-3.5°C) | 47°/29°F (8.1°/-1.6°C) |
| Apr | 63°/34°F (17.2°/1.1°C) | 59°/39°F (15.0°/3.8°C) |
| May | 72°/43°F (22.3°/5.9°C) | 70°/48°F (21.1°/9.1°C) |
| Jun | 81°/51°F (27.0°/10.6°C) | 80°/58°F (26.5°/14.5°C) |
| Jul | 89°/57°F (31.9°/13.8°C) | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) |
| Aug | 89°/55°F (31.5°/12.6°C) | 82°/63°F (27.7°/17.2°C) |
| Sep | 78°/45°F (25.5°/7.2°C) | 75°/54°F (23.8°/12.4°C) |
| Oct | 65°/35°F (18.1°/1.6°C) | 62°/43°F (16.8°/6.0°C) |
| Nov | 49°/24°F (9.7°/-4.2°C) | 48°/32°F (9.0°/0.2°C) |
| Dec | 39°/15°F (4.0°/-9.2°C) | 35°/21°F (1.6°/-6.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Illinois than Montana?
Yes — Illinois is on average about 3% cheaper than Montana. 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 $18,200 in Illinois on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Illinois safe?
Illinois performs significantly better than Montana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Illinois compared to Montana?
Montana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Illinois leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Illinois compared to Montana?
The average high temperature in Chicago is 59°F, compared to 64°F in Billings. Chicago receives around 36.9 in of rainfall per year, while Billings gets 14.2 in.
