2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

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

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$93,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-6.3%
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

St. Mary's County, MD

COL 134.3
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,386
Local / City Tax -$2,990
Net Annual Take-Home $71,803
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$19,704
Discretionary Cash Flow $52,099
Target Market
Destination Location

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

COL 125.8
Gross Parity Income $93,700
Federal Income Tax -$11,784
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,168
State Income Tax -$4,493
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $70,255
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $48,895

EPI family budgets put living costs 6.3% lower in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN than in St. Mary's County, MD, so $100,000 in St. Mary's County goes about as far as $93,700 in Chicago. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,642 a month in St. Mary's County and $1,780 in Chicago, $1,656 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $2,572 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Chicago. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $916 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $63,990 in St. Mary's County (BLS figure for the Lexington Park, MD metro area) 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 St. Mary's County (Monthly) Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,642$1,780+$138+8.4%
Food & Groceries$364$385+$21+5.8%
Transportation$1,232$947-$285-23.1%
Healthcare$358$416+$58+16.2%
Other Necessities$576$572-$4-0.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,350$2,135-$215-9.1%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$138/mo (8.4%)
St. Mary's County: $1,642/mo Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $1,780/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$224/mo (12.5%)
St. Mary's County: $1,787/mo Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $2,011/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$1.87/hr (-6.3%)
St. Mary's County: $29.69/hr Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $27.82/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.39/hr (1.6%)
St. Mary's County: $23.87/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 St. Mary's County Median Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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

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

About $93,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (134.3 in St. Mary's County, MD, 125.8 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

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

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

St. Mary's County, MD to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to match $100,000 in St. Mary's County, MD?

About $93,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (134.3 in St. Mary's County, MD, 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 St. Mary's County, MD?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 6.3% lower in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN than in St. Mary's County, MD. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.