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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Chicago to Tulsa

Chicago, IL vs Tulsa, OK

Simple answer

You'd likely save $782 a month in Tulsa.

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 43.8 points (Chicago 112.0, Tulsa 68.2).

Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95%. Oklahoma taxes wages at rates up to 4.50%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.1 percentage points, higher in Oklahoma. The effective property tax gap is 1.17 percentage points, higher in Illinois.

After a move from Illinois to Oklahoma, 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 $64,589 in Tulsa 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

Tulsa

Tulsa, OK

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,229
HUD area
Tulsa, OK HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,115
All-items price parity
89.2
Goods price parity
93.8
Utilities price parity
73.9
Mean commute
22.6 min
Median household income
$69,658

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

$64,589

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

After state and federal tax

$62,287

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

Rent only

$45,835

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

TaxIllinoisOklahoma
State income tax on wages4.95% flatup to 4.50%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20269.0%9.1%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.92%0.75%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $7,694 a year in Illinois and $3,011 in Oklahoma. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Oklahoma

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

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    TulsaLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    TulsaLikely eligible

  • WIC

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    TulsaLikely eligible

  • School meals

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    TulsaLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    ChicagoMaybe

    TulsaMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    TulsaLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    TulsaLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    ChicagoUnlikely

    TulsaUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    ChicagoLikely eligible

    TulsaLikely eligible

  • SSI

    ChicagoUnlikely

    TulsaUnlikely

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 Oklahoma · 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.