Illinois vs Tennessee

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in Illinois is worth

$100,000

at national prices · RPP 100.0BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in Tennessee is worth

$108,814

at national prices · RPP 91.9BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes +$8,814 further in Tennessee (+8.8% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

Illinois: $100,000 ÷ (100.0 ÷ 100) = $100,000

Tennessee: $100,000 ÷ (91.9 ÷ 100) = $108,814

difference: $108,814 − $100,000 = +$8,814

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	Illinois	Tennessee	Difference
All items	100.0	91.9	−8.1%
Housing rents	93.9	79.1	−15.8%
Goods	103.8	96.2	−7.3%
Utilities	85.0	72.1	−15.2%
Other services	100.2	95.1	−5.1%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

IllinoisMedian rent$1,274/moMedian home$263,300

TennesseeMedian rent$1,189/moMedian home$286,700

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	Illinois	Tennessee
Income tax (top rate)	4.95%	None
Sales tax (combined avg)	8.96%	9.61%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

Illinois vs Tennessee: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from Illinois to Tennessee and its purchasing power changes from $100,000 to $108,814 in national-average terms — a gain of $8,814. Tennessee is the cheaper of the two, running at 91.9 on the price index versus 100.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: Illinois sits at 93.9 and Tennessee at 79.1 (100 = national). Tennessee has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,274 in Illinois against $1,189 in Tennessee, and the typical home $263,300 versus $286,700. Illinois is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, Illinois has 4.95% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 8.96%; Tennessee has no wage income tax and 9.61%. That income-tax difference can outweigh a chunk of the cost-of-living gap for higher earners.

Full profiles: Illinois ·Tennessee. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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