2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Sacramento-Roseville, CA to Chicago Metro, IL-IN

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 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$87,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-13.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$1,406
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$156
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$1,562/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

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA

COL 144.6
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,911
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $72,969
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,516
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,453
Target Market
Destination Location

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

COL 125.8
Gross Parity Income $87,000
Federal Income Tax -$10,310
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,656
State Income Tax -$4,162
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $65,873
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $44,513

EPI family budgets put living costs 13.0% lower in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN than in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA, so $100,000 in Sacramento goes about as far as $87,000 in Chicago. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,793 a month in Sacramento and $1,780 in Chicago, $156 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $1,406 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Chicago. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $1,562 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $59,750 in Sacramento and $54,720 in Chicago.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom (Monthly) Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,793$1,780-$13-0.7%
Food & Groceries$384$385+$1+0.3%
Transportation$1,044$947-$97-9.3%
Healthcare$577$416-$161-27.9%
Other Necessities$640$572-$68-10.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,253$2,135-$118-5.2%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$13/mo (-0.7%)
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom: $1,793/mo Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $1,780/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$190/mo (-8.6%)
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom: $2,201/mo Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $2,011/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$4.15/hr (-13.0%)
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom: $31.97/hr Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $27.82/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.69/hr (-16.2%)
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom: $28.95/hr Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $24.26/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom Median Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$118,460$109,390-$9,070 (-7.7%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$171,460$100,490-$70,970 (-41.4%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$82,990$105,090+$22,100 (+26.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$92,110$82,360-$9,750 (-10.6%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$139,640$134,380-$5,260 (-3.8%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$163,090$168,810+$5,720 (+3.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$113,980$158,690+$44,710 (+39.2%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$165,270$173,760+$8,490 (+5.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$124,350$105,320-$19,030 (-15.3%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$54,450$48,230-$6,220 (-11.4%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$74,830$102,350+$27,520 (+36.8%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$159,350$123,090-$36,260 (-22.8%)View Dossier

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

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Relocation FAQs

About $87,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (144.6 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA, 125.8 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
Relocation: Sacramento-Roseville, CA to Chicago Metro, IL-IN Overview

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Sacramento-Roseville, CA to Chicago Metro, IL-IN compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to match $100,000 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA?

About $87,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (144.6 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA, 125.8 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN cheaper than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 13.0% lower in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN than in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.