Moving from Illinois to Rhode Island: Cost & Tax Comparison
Compare state income tax savings, HUD rent differentials, and household purchasing power adjustments when relocating from Illinois to Rhode Island.
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 Rhode Island
Illinois has a flat 4.95% income tax and Rhode Island has graduated income tax rates up to 5.99%. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,805 in state income tax in Illinois and $3,148 in state income tax in Rhode Island. With federal income tax and FICA unchanged, total tax falls by $1,657 a year after the move. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent averages $1,053 a month across Illinois's metro areas and $1,608 across Rhode Island's (+52.7%). Pay differs too: the BLS median wage across all occupations, weighted by employment in each state's metros, is $54,104 in Illinois and $53,680 in Rhode Island. 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 & Rhode Island
Moving from Illinois to Rhode Island on a $100,000 salary: pay $1,657 less in total taxes per year; average one-bedroom rent is $1,608 vs $1,053 a month (HUD.
Quick answers
For a single filer earning $100,000 with no local income tax, total federal, FICA and state taxes are $1,657 lower in Rhode Island than in Illinois (1.7 percentage points of gross pay). The average HUD one-bedroom Fair Market Rent across Rhode Island's metros is $1,608 a month, versus $1,053 in Illinois (+52.7%). Taxes and one-bedroom rent combined change by -$5,006 a year.
Illinois: Flat Tax, top rate 4.95%. Rhode Island: Graduated Brackets, top rate 5.99%. Federal income tax and FICA are the same in both states.