Moving from Illinois to Louisiana: Cost & Tax Comparison
Compare state income tax savings, HUD rent differentials, and household purchasing power adjustments when relocating from Illinois to Louisiana.
Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology
What changes when you move from Illinois to Louisiana
Illinois has a flat 4.95% income tax and Louisiana has a flat 3% income tax. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,805 in state income tax in Illinois and $2,614 in state income tax in Louisiana. With federal income tax and FICA unchanged, total tax falls by $2,191 a year after the move. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent averages $1,053 a month across Illinois's metro areas and $877 across Louisiana's (-16.8%). Pay differs too: the BLS median wage across all occupations, weighted by employment in each state's metros, is $54,104 in Illinois and $45,449 in Louisiana. City and county income taxes, which some localities add, are not included in these state-level figures; the metro routes below include them.
Metropolitan Corridors Between Illinois & Louisiana
Moving from Illinois to Louisiana on a $100,000 salary: pay $2,191 less in total taxes per year; average one-bedroom rent is $877 vs $1,053 a month (HUD FMR).
Quick answers
For a single filer earning $100,000 with no local income tax, total federal, FICA and state taxes are $2,191 lower in Louisiana than in Illinois (2.2 percentage points of gross pay). The average HUD one-bedroom Fair Market Rent across Louisiana's metros is $877 a month, versus $1,053 in Illinois (-16.8%). Taxes and one-bedroom rent combined change by +$4,308 a year.
Illinois: Flat Tax, top rate 4.95%. Louisiana: Flat Tax, top rate 3%. Federal income tax and FICA are the same in both states.