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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Chicago to Seattle

Chicago, IL vs Seattle, WA

Simple answer

You'd likely save $538 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 Census rent. Census median gross rent differs by $581, with Seattle higher.

Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95%. Washington has no tax on wages. Combined sales tax differs by 0.6 percentage points, higher in Washington. The effective property tax gap is 1.14 percentage points, higher in Illinois.

After a move from Illinois to Washington, 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 $80,457 in Seattle 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

Seattle

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$2,549
HUD area
Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$2,050
All-items price parity
111.1
Goods price parity
104.0
Utilities price parity
92.8
Mean commute
30.0 min
Median household income
$112,388

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

$80,457

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

After state and federal tax

$75,930

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

Rent only

$95,065

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

TaxIllinoisWashington
State income tax on wages4.95% flatNo wage tax
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20269.0%9.5%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.92%0.79%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $7,694 a year in Illinois and $3,141 in Washington. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Washington

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

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    SeattleLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    SeattleLikely eligible

  • WIC

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    SeattleLikely eligible

  • School meals

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    SeattleLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    ChicagoMaybe

    SeattleMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    SeattleLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    SeattleLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    ChicagoUnlikely

    SeattleUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    SeattleLikely eligible

  • SSI

    ChicagoUnlikely

    SeattleUnlikely

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 Washington · 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.