Illinois and Wisconsin at a glance
Illinois and Wisconsin share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $22,627 a year after taxes and the four basics in Illinois and $28,910 in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin comes out ahead by $6,283 a year ($524 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 12,694,798 people in 102 counties in Illinois and 5,914,872 people in 72 counties in Wisconsin.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. State income tax takes $2,829 in Illinois and $2,028 in Wisconsin, which leaves take-home pay of $47,510 and $48,311.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $74,092 in Illinois and $74,753 in Wisconsin, a difference of $661. The gap does not widen much with income because the two states tax at similar rates.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $1,489 a month in Illinois and $1,020 in Wisconsin, so Wisconsin is $469 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $2,110 and $2,209, and gasoline $1,471 and $1,518. Together the basics cost $24,883 a year in Illinois and $19,401 in Wisconsin.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $83,390 in Illinois and $77,485 in Wisconsin. Homeowners pay a median of $5,298 a year in property tax in Illinois and $3,792 in Wisconsin. Commuters travel 27.8 minutes each way on average in Illinois and 22.2 in Wisconsin.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.