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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Chicago to Richmond

Chicago, IL vs Richmond, VA

Simple answer

You'd likely save $360 a month in Richmond.

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 $360: Chicago is higher at $2,011 versus $1,651.

Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95%. Virginia taxes wages at rates up to 5.75%. Combined sales tax differs by 3.2 percentage points, higher in Illinois. The effective property tax gap is 1.21 percentage points, higher in Illinois.

After a move from Illinois to Virginia, 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 $70,847 in Richmond 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

Richmond

Richmond, VA

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,651
HUD area
Richmond, VA HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,546
All-items price parity
97.9
Goods price parity
96.8
Utilities price parity
89.2
Mean commute
26.6 min
Median household income
$83,460

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

$70,847

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

After state and federal tax

$69,918

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

Rent only

$61,574

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

TaxIllinoisVirginia
State income tax on wages4.95% flatup to 5.75%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20269.0%5.8%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.92%0.71%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $7,694 a year in Illinois and $2,847 in Virginia. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Virginia

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

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    RichmondLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    RichmondLikely eligible

  • WIC

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    RichmondLikely eligible

  • School meals

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    RichmondLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    ChicagoMaybe

    RichmondMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    RichmondLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    RichmondLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    ChicagoUnlikely

    RichmondUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    RichmondLikely eligible

  • SSI

    ChicagoUnlikely

    RichmondUnlikely

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 Virginia · 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.