Illinois vs Indiana: Cost of Living, Taxes, Rent and Safety Compared
Weighing a move between Illinois and Indiana? Here’s how they compare on the numbers that decide most moves, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states.
Shaded cells are the lower-cost, higher-income or lower-risk figure. Indexes: U.S. average = 100.
What it means for your budget
Rent alone: moving from Illinois to Indiana changes a typical two-bedroom rent by −$422 a month (−$5,064 a year); the move the other way flips the sign. Taxes, pay, insurance and the move itself shift too, and how much depends on your income, your household and the city you pick.
That’s exactly what Locustep’s Net-Impact Report works out: your take-home pay after state and local taxes in both places, rent or buy for your budget, insurance and moving costs, and the month the move pays for itself.
Which state fits you better?
On Locustep’s directional scores, Illinois leads on healthcare, walkability and airport access. Which of those matters depends entirely on you.
Where people look in each state
Illinois
Chicago
$2,011/mo two-bedroom
Chicago is a genuinely great American city — world-class architecture, museums, food and transit, with lakefront summers that make the brutal winters worth it. Housing is cheap for its size, though property taxes and neighbourhood-level violence vary sharply.
Naperville
$2,011/mo two-bedroom
Naperville is an affluent western suburb of Chicago with top-rated schools, a riverwalk and a commuter train downtown. Safe, family-focused, expensive by Illinois standards, and thoroughly suburban.
Springfield
$1,237/mo two-bedroom
Springfield is Illinois's state capital and Lincoln's town — government employment, a low cost of living and a quiet central-Illinois pace. Flat, affordable, and short on big-city amenities.
Indianapolis is an affordable, flat Midwestern capital with a walkable downtown canal, a serious sports culture and a big logistics sector. Winters are grey, summers humid, and your housing dollar goes remarkably far.
Fort Wayne
$1,248/mo two-bedroom
Fort Wayne is a mid-sized northeastern Indiana city with a manufacturing base, a revitalised riverfront and some of the lowest housing costs in the country. Quiet, family-oriented and conservative.
Bloomington
$1,252/mo two-bedroom
Bloomington is Indiana University's town — limestone architecture, wooded hills, a strong music school and a young, liberal population. Cheap, walkable near campus, and much quieter over the summer.
On rent, Indiana is cheaper: a typical two-bedroom is $1,302 a month against $1,724 (HUD FY2027). Everyday costs, housing excluded, index at 101.5 in Illinois and 97.7 in Indiana (U.S. = 100). Whether you come out ahead also depends on your pay and taxes in each state.
Which has lower taxes, Illinois or Indiana?
Indiana. A married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 6.6% of it in state and local taxes, against 12.7% in Illinois (Locustep estimate). Top income-tax rates are 4.95% in Illinois and 2.95% in Indiana.
Is Illinois safer than Indiana?
By violent crime, Illinois is lower: 289.2 per 100,000 residents against 312.9 (FBI, 2024). On natural hazards, FEMA puts Illinois at the 30th percentile and Indiana at the 25th (lower is safer).
Which has better weather, Illinois or Indiana?
It depends what you want. Winter afternoons average 35°F in Chicago and 39°F in Indianapolis; summer afternoons 82°F and 84°F (NOAA 1991–2020). Illinois: four distinct seasons. Indiana: four distinct seasons.