What does the Cook County, IL vs Kings County, NY comparison show?

It compares estimated living costs by category, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes, and income context.

Can I change the salary and family type?

Yes. The comparison calculator supports salary and family type inputs so you can model costs for different households.

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Cook County, IL vs Kings County, NY: Cost of Living Difference

Name: WatchPennies cost of living dataset
Creator: WatchPennies

Is it cheaper?

Cook County, IL is cheaper than Kings County, NY.

Moving to Kings County, NY is estimated to cost $24,436 more per year.

Cheaper County

Cook County, ILSpend $24,436 more per year.

Salary needed

$50,000 in Cook County, IL is about $72,055 in Kings County, NY.

Biggest drivers

Housing increases by $11,106 per year. Transport saves $3,123 per year.

Housing: $11,106 higher in Kings County, NY

Taxes: $8,470 higher in Kings County, NY

Childcare: about the same in both counties

Healthcare: $4,021 higher in Kings County, NY

Food: $392 higher in Kings County, NY

Transport: $3,123 lower in Kings County, NY

Cook County, IL→Kings County, NY

Equivalent salary in Kings County, NY

$72,055

+44.11% higher

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in Cook County, IL: $102,297

Median Income in Kings County, NY: $87,226

Living Index in Cook County, IL 54.16%

Living Index in Kings County, NY 91.53%

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Cook County, IL to Kings County, NY.

* Living index is estimated as (estimated total cost / area median income) * 100. A living index above 100% means modeled costs exceed median income.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary

Moving from Cook County, IL to Kings County, NY is estimated to cost $24,436 more per year. To maintain similar purchasing power, a $50,000 salary in Cook County, IL would need to be about $72,055 in Kings County, NY. The biggest increase is housing, followed by taxes.

This is a 44.11% increase in modeled annual costs. Housing is $11,106 per year higher (64.65%); Taxes is $8,470 per year higher (72.2%).

Below we break down the annual categories behind the difference using Economic Policy Institute 2026 Family Budget data.

What changed the most?

The following cards show the annual category differences that most affect the move to Kings County, NY.

Biggest Cost

Largest annual cost increase when moving to Kings County, NY

Annual Increase:

$11,106 per year

HOUSING has the largest annual increase when moving to Kings County, NY.

Biggest Savings

Largest annual savings when moving to Kings County, NY

Annual Savings:

$3,123 per year

TRANSPORT has the largest annual savings when moving to Kings County, NY.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	64.65% higher
Cook County, IL Kings County, NY Average Cost $17178.00 $28284.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on Department of Housing and Urban Development data. The estimate uses 40th percentile rent for privately owned rental units in each area. Studio apartments are paired with one-adult households, one-bedroom apartments with two-adult households, and two-bedroom apartments with households that have children.
Food	8.41% higher
Cook County, IL Kings County, NY Average Cost $4662.00 $5054.00 INFO: Food costs are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plans. Numbers are normalized to each area using Feeding America and Meal Gap data. This estimate assumes most food is bought at local grocery stores and prepared at home.
Transport	-30.99% lower
Cook County, IL Kings County, NY Average Cost $10077.00 $6954.00 INFO: Transportation costs are a combination of auto ownership, auto use, and public transit. Data is collected from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).
Healthcare	80.89% higher
Cook County, IL Kings County, NY Average Cost $4971.00 $8992.00 INFO: Healthcare expenses come from average insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The estimate assumes families purchase the lowest-cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	52.65% higher
Cook County, IL Kings County, NY Average Cost $6781.00 $10351.00 INFO: This cost is calculated through the average spending of categories deemed necessary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. These include apparel, personal care, household supplies, reading materials, and school supplies.
Childcare	0.00% higher
Cook County, IL Kings County, NY Average Cost $0.00 $0.00 INFO: Childcare expenses are based on combined costs for center-based care and family-based care for 4-year-olds and school-aged children. For households with one child, the estimate assumes the child is 4 years old. For households with two children, the estimate assumes the second child is 8 years old.
Taxes	72.20% higher
Cook County, IL Kings County, NY Average Cost $11731.00 $20201.00 INFO: Taxes are calculated from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The number weighs in personal income tax, state income tax, federal Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

In Kings County, NY, modeled annual costs are $79,835 compared with $55,399 in Cook County, IL.

Overall, annual costs are higher in Kings County, NY. The category breakdown above shows whether housing, taxes, transportation, healthcare, food, childcare, or other necessities are driving the increase.

In this case Kings County, NY and Cook County, IL are both metropolitan locations.

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