Compare / Allentown to Chicago
Allentown, PA vs Chicago, IL
Simple answer
You'd likely save $172 a month in Allentown.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $172: Chicago is higher at $2,011 versus $1,839.
Pennsylvania taxes wages at a flat 3.07%. Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.6 percentage points, higher in Illinois. The effective property tax gap is 0.77 percentage points, higher in Illinois.
After a move from Pennsylvania to Illinois, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.
A $75,000 salary in Allentown lines up with about $77,721 in Chicago on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Allentown
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,839
- HUD area
- Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,458
- All-items price parity
- 100.0
- Goods price parity
- 100.6
- Utilities price parity
- 107.6
- Mean commute
- 28.2 min
- Median household income
- $83,974
Chicago
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,011
- HUD area
- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,469
- All-items price parity
- 103.6
- Goods price parity
- 107.3
- Utilities price parity
- 83.6
- Mean commute
- 30.9 min
- Median household income
- $90,770
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$77,721
Salary in Chicago that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$79,047
Gross salary in Chicago whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$82,015
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Pennsylvania | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | 3.07% flat | 4.95% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 6.3% | 9.0% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 1.16% | 1.92% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $4,631 a year in Pennsylvania and $7,694 in Illinois. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Illinois
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Pennsylvania and once in Illinois. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
AllentownLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
AllentownLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
WIC
AllentownLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
School meals
AllentownLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
LIHEAP
AllentownMaybe
ChicagoMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
AllentownLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
AllentownLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
AllentownUnlikely
ChicagoUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
AllentownLikely eligible
ChicagoLikely eligible
SSI
AllentownUnlikely
ChicagoUnlikely
| Program | Allentown | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Allentown
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Allentown.
- Allentown and San Francisco · rent gap $1,858
- Allentown and San Jose · rent gap $1,433
- Allentown and Boston · rent gap $1,169
- Allentown and New York · rent gap $1,132
- Allentown and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,125
- Allentown and San Diego · rent gap $984
- Allentown and McAllen · rent gap $822
- Allentown and Wichita · rent gap $796
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.