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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Chicago to Columbus

Chicago, IL vs Columbus, OH

Simple answer

You'd likely save $409 a month in Columbus.

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 housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 24.1 points (Chicago 112.0, Columbus 87.9).

Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95%. Ohio taxes wages at a flat 2.75%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.7 percentage points, higher in Illinois. The effective property tax gap is 0.70 percentage points, higher in Illinois.

After a move from Illinois to Ohio, 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 Chicago lines up with about $69,117 in Columbus on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

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

Columbus

Columbus, OH

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,602
HUD area
Columbus, OH HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,359
All-items price parity
95.5
Goods price parity
93.6
Utilities price parity
95.5
Mean commute
24.1 min
Median household income
$82,938

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.

Same buying power

$69,117

Salary in Columbus that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$66,114

Gross salary in Columbus whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$59,746

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

TaxIllinoisOhio
State income tax on wages4.95% flat2.75% flat
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20269.0%7.3%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.92%1.22%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $7,694 a year in Illinois and $4,899 in Ohio. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Ohio

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Illinois and once in Ohio. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    ColumbusLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    ColumbusLikely eligible

  • WIC

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    ColumbusLikely eligible

  • School meals

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    ColumbusLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    ChicagoMaybe

    ColumbusMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    ColumbusLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    ColumbusLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    ChicagoUnlikely

    ColumbusUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    ColumbusLikely eligible

  • SSI

    ChicagoUnlikely

    ColumbusUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for Ohio · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Chicago

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Chicago.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.