Moving to Illinois from Wyoming
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Wyoming to Illinois — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Wyoming to Illinois, you would find that Illinois is 1.7% cheaper than Wyoming. A $75,000 salary in Wyoming would need to be roughly $73,700 in Illinois to maintain the same lifestyle. Cheyenne and Chicago are about 890 mi apart.
Is Illinois cheaper than Wyoming?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 5.2% less
Groceries
pay 5.5% less
Transportation
pay 4.8% more
Housing
pay 4.2% less
Childcare
pay 5.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.1% 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 → $73,700
To maintain the same standard of living in Illinois
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How Wyoming 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
Wyoming 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
Wyoming 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
Wyoming 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
Wyoming 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
Wyoming 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
Illinois performs significantly better than Wyoming 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 Wyoming
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Cheyenne | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 42°/20°F (6°/-6°C) | 38°/22°F (3°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 65°/40°F (18°/4°C) | 70°/48°F (21°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 79°/52°F (26°/11°C) | 80°/60°F (27°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/25°F (9°/-4°C) | 48°/32°F (9°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Cheyenne | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/18°F (4.2°/-7.8°C) | 31°/17°F (-0.6°/-8.6°C) |
| Feb | 40°/19°F (4.7°/-7.4°C) | 35°/20°F (1.8°/-6.6°C) |
| Mar | 47°/24°F (8.6°/-4.2°C) | 47°/29°F (8.1°/-1.6°C) |
| Apr | 55°/31°F (12.7°/-0.7°C) | 59°/39°F (15.0°/3.8°C) |
| May | 65°/40°F (18.2°/4.6°C) | 70°/48°F (21.1°/9.1°C) |
| Jun | 75°/49°F (24.1°/9.4°C) | 80°/58°F (26.5°/14.5°C) |
| Jul | 83°/56°F (28.6°/13.1°C) | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) |
| Aug | 81°/54°F (27.3°/12.3°C) | 82°/63°F (27.7°/17.2°C) |
| Sep | 72°/45°F (22.1°/7.1°C) | 75°/54°F (23.8°/12.4°C) |
| Oct | 59°/34°F (14.9°/1.1°C) | 62°/43°F (16.8°/6.0°C) |
| Nov | 47°/24°F (8.1°/-4.3°C) | 48°/32°F (9.0°/0.2°C) |
| Dec | 38°/17°F (3.4°/-8.2°C) | 35°/21°F (1.6°/-6.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Illinois than Wyoming?
Headline costs are within a few percent between Illinois and Wyoming; rent and dining are where you'll actually feel differences.
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 $18,425 in Illinois for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Illinois safe?
Wyoming performs better than Illinois across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Illinois compared to Wyoming?
Wyoming generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Illinois leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Illinois compared to Wyoming?
The average high temperature in Chicago is 59°F, compared to 58°F in Cheyenne. Chicago receives around 36.9 in of rainfall per year, while Cheyenne gets 15.9 in.
