Illinois vs Indiana: which really costs more?
The Chicago metro straddles this border, making it one of the most practically consequential state lines in the country.
Income tax shown is the effective state rate on a $75,000 salary for a single filer; sales tax is the combined state and local rate in each state's representative county. Both figures come from the same verified datasets the calculator uses.
What things actually cost in each
Gross income required at a $75,000 salary, using each category's default assumptions — sorted by the biggest difference between the two states.
| Category | Illinois | Indiana | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | $1,225,902 | $1,182,646 | $43,256 cheaper in Indiana |
| Wedding | $50,091 | $47,651 | $2,440 cheaper in Indiana |
| Coffee habit | $27,403 | $26,107 | $1,296 cheaper in Indiana |
| Car payment or lease | $17,780 | $17,252 | $528 cheaper in Indiana |
| Funeral | $12,232 | $11,869 | $363 cheaper in Indiana |
| Phone plan | $10,536 | $10,223 | $313 cheaper in Indiana |
| Pet annual cost | $2,580 | $2,458 | $122 cheaper in Indiana |
| Laptop or phone purchase | $2,000 | $1,905 | $95 cheaper in Indiana |
| Rent | $2,752 | $2,671 | $82 cheaper in Indiana |
| Childcare | $1,682 | $1,632 | $50 cheaper in Indiana |
| Hotel stay | $1,070 | $1,038 | $32 cheaper in Indiana |
| Health insurance premium | $688 | $668 | $20 cheaper in Indiana |
| Student loan payment | $612 | $593 | $18 cheaper in Indiana |
| Domestic flight | $501 | $486 | $15 cheaper in Indiana |
| Concert ticket | $227 | $217 | $10 cheaper in Indiana |
| Utilities | $321 | $312 | $10 cheaper in Indiana |
| Weekly groceries | $268 | $260 | $8 cheaper in Indiana |
| Restaurant dinner | $160 | $152 | $8 cheaper in Indiana |
| Car insurance | $252 | $245 | $7 cheaper in Indiana |
| Gym membership | $75 | $71 | $4 cheaper in Indiana |
| Streaming bundle | $75 | $71 | $4 cheaper in Indiana |
| Cannabis (legal states) | $108 | $105 | $3 cheaper in Indiana |
| Internet service | $107 | $104 | $3 cheaper in Indiana |
| Pizza delivery | $62 | $59 | $3 cheaper in Indiana |
| Food delivery | $59 | $57 | $2 cheaper in Indiana |
| Gas fill-up | $69 | $67 | $2 cheaper in Indiana |
| Haircut | $64 | $62 | $2 cheaper in Indiana |
| Soft drinks | $40 | $38 | $2 cheaper in Indiana |
| Rideshare trip | $34 | $33 | $1 cheaper in Indiana |
| Fast food meal | $20 | $19 | $1 cheaper in Indiana |
| Bar drink | $18 | $17 | $1 cheaper in Indiana |
| Cigarettes or vape | $15 | $14 | $1 cheaper in Indiana |
Across the 32 categories we can compute for both states, Indiana comes out cheaper more often. That is not the whole picture — housing costs, wages, and property tax vary far more than sales tax does, and none of those are modeled here. See limitations.