Boston, MA vs Chicago, IL
Simple answer
You'd likely save $997 a month in Chicago.
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 $997: Boston is higher at $3,008 versus $2,011.
Massachusetts taxes wages at rates up to 9.00%. Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.7 percentage points, higher in Illinois. The effective property tax gap is 0.92 percentage points, higher in Illinois.
After a move from Massachusetts 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 Boston lines up with about $71,764 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.
Boston
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $3,008
- HUD area
- Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $2,093
- All-items price parity
- 108.3
- Goods price parity
- 99.7
- Utilities price parity
- 148.8
- Mean commute
- 31.9 min
- Median household income
- $117,825
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.
$71,764
Salary in Chicago that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$71,227
Gross salary in Chicago whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$50,141
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 | Massachusetts | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | up to 9.00% | 4.95% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 6.3% | 9.0% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 1.00% | 1.92% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $4,004 a year in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts and once in Illinois. This is an illustration, not your application.
| Program | Boston | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Boston
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Boston.
- Boston and McAllen · rent gap $1,991
- Boston and Wichita · rent gap $1,965
- Boston and Little Rock · rent gap $1,887
- Boston and Toledo · rent gap $1,863
- Boston and El Paso · rent gap $1,862
- Boston and Baton Rouge · rent gap $1,859
- Boston and Columbia · rent gap $1,782
- Boston and Tulsa · rent gap $1,779
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.