How Much You Need To Live Comfortably in 10 Illinois Cities
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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If you’re a single working adult, you need an annual salary of about $96,500 to live comfortably in a major city in the U.S. That’s the conclusion from a study by SmartAsset.Â
It’s based on the 50/30/20 budget. It says that for sustainable comfort, half of your salary should go to your needs, 30% to wants and 20% toward paying off debt or saving and investing.
Also see the lowest salary needed to be happy in each state.
Living In Illinois
The study also found you need about $95,000 a year to live comfortably in Illinois. That means being able to cover your basic needs, pay for common desires and sustain your savings. That puts Illinois 18th in the country for cost of living.
The cost of living in the Land of Lincoln is good compared to the rest of the nation. Specifically, it’s overall 8% lower than the national average. Housing is 22% lower, groceries are around 4% lower and healthcare services cost about 6% less.
Living In Illinois Cities
Most of the cities in Illinois are cheaper to live in than the national average — much lower in some cases. There is one exception — it costs about 14% more than the national average to live comfortably in Chicago.Â
Here’s a look at how RentCafe said other cities in Illinois compare to the national average cost of living:Â
- Chicago: 14% higher
- Bloomington: 2% lower
- Joliet: 3% lower
- Quincy: 4% lower
- Carbondale: 8% lower
- Galesburg: 9% lower
- Champaign: 10% lower
- Springfield: 10% lower
- Peoria: 12% lower
- Kankakee: 12% lower
According to the study, Decatur is the cheapest major city in Illinois. There the cost of living is about 22% lower than the national average.
By the way, and it probably comes as no surprise, the study found that overall the costs for necessities in the U.S. have become more expensive over the past year.
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