2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to St. Mary's County, MD

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to St. Mary's County, MD.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$106,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+6.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$2,572
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$1,656
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$916/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

COL 125.8
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,805
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,375
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $53,015
Target Market
Destination Location

St. Mary's County, MD

COL 134.3
Gross Parity Income $106,700
Federal Income Tax -$14,644
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$8,163
State Income Tax -$4,785
Local / City Tax -$3,256
Net Annual Take-Home $75,852
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$19,704
Discretionary Cash Flow $56,148

EPI family budgets put living costs 6.7% higher in St. Mary's County, MD than in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, so $100,000 in Chicago goes about as far as $106,700 in St. Mary's County. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,780 a month in Chicago and $1,642 in St. Mary's County, $1,656 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $2,572 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in St. Mary's County. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $916 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $54,720 in Chicago and $63,990 in St. Mary's County (BLS figure for the Lexington Park, MD metro area).

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (Monthly) St. Mary's County (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,780$1,642-$138-7.8%
Food & Groceries$385$364-$21-5.5%
Transportation$947$1,232+$285+30.1%
Healthcare$416$358-$58-13.9%
Other Necessities$572$576+$4+0.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,135$2,350+$215+10.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$138/mo (-7.8%)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $1,780/mo St. Mary's County: $1,642/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$224/mo (-11.1%)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $2,011/mo St. Mary's County: $1,787/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$1.87/hr (6.7%)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $27.82/hr St. Mary's County: $29.69/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$0.39/hr (-1.6%)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $24.26/hr St. Mary's County: $23.87/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Median St. Mary's County Median Nominal Wage Delta Action

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to St. Mary's County, MD Relocation FAQs

About $106,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.8 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 134.3 in St. Mary's County, MD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to St. Mary's County, MD: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: St. Mary's County, MD to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Relocation: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to St. Mary's County, MD Overview

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to St. Mary's County, MD: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in St. Mary's County, MD to match $100,000 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

About $106,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.8 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 134.3 in St. Mary's County, MD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is St. Mary's County, MD cheaper than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 6.7% higher in St. Mary's County, MD than in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.