2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Union County, OH 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 Union County, OH to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$110,500
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+10.5%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$2,824
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$6,624
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$9,448/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

Union County, OH

COL 113.8
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$1,981
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $77,199
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$14,736
Discretionary Cash Flow $62,463
Target Market
Destination Location

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

COL 125.8
Gross Parity Income $110,500
Federal Income Tax -$15,480
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$8,453
State Income Tax -$5,325
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $81,242
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $59,882

EPI family budgets put living costs 10.5% higher in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN than in Union County, OH, so $100,000 in Union County goes about as far as $110,500 in Chicago. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,228 a month in Union County and $1,780 in Chicago, $6,624 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $2,824 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Chicago. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $9,448 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,340 in Union County (BLS figure for the Columbus, OH 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 Union County (Monthly) Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,228$1,780+$552+45.0%
Food & Groceries$342$385+$43+12.6%
Transportation$1,247$947-$300-24.1%
Healthcare$453$416-$37-8.2%
Other Necessities$445$572+$127+28.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,900$2,135+$235+12.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$552/mo (45.0%)
Union County: $1,228/mo Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $1,780/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$404/mo (25.1%)
Union County: $1,607/mo Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $2,011/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$2.65/hr (10.5%)
Union County: $25.17/hr Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $27.82/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$0.84/hr (3.6%)
Union County: $23.42/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 Union 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

Union County, OH to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Relocation FAQs

About $110,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (113.8 in Union County, OH, 125.8 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Union County, OH to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to Union County, OH
Relocation: Union County, OH to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Overview

Union County, OH to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Union County, OH to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, 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 Union County, OH?

About $110,500. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (113.8 in Union County, OH, 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 Union County, OH?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 10.5% higher in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN than in Union County, OH. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.