What does WatchPennies calculate?

WatchPennies estimates cost of living by US county across housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes, and income context.

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Can I compare two counties on WatchPennies?

Yes. WatchPennies lets you compare counties and adjust salary and family type to estimate relative cost differences.

What does the Cook County, IL vs Monroe 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.

Does WatchPennies require an account for comparisons?

No. County comparisons are available without creating an account.

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

Is it cheaper?

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

Moving to Monroe County, NY is estimated to save $3,351 per year.

Cheaper County

Monroe County, NYSave about $3,351 per year.

Salary needed

$50,000 in Cook County, IL is about $46,975 in Monroe County, NY.

Biggest drivers

Healthcare increases by $2,272 per year. Housing saves $4,634 per year.

Housing: $4,634 lower in Monroe County, NY

Taxes: $1,072 lower in Monroe County, NY

Childcare: about the same in both counties

Healthcare: $2,272 higher in Monroe County, NY

Food: $127 lower in Monroe County, NY

Transport: $1,688 higher in Monroe County, NY

Cook County, IL→Monroe County, NY

Equivalent salary in Monroe County, NY

$46,975

-6.05% lower

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

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

Median Income in Monroe County, NY: $99,834

Living Index in Cook County, IL 54.16%

Living Index in Monroe County, NY 52.13%

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Cook County, IL to Monroe 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 Monroe County, NY is estimated to save $3,351 per year. A $50,000 salary in Cook County, IL would have similar purchasing power to about $46,975 in Monroe County, NY. The largest savings come from housing and other costs.

This is a 6.05% decrease in modeled annual costs. Housing is $4,634 per year lower (26.98%); Other Costs is $1,479 per year lower (21.81%).

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 Monroe County, NY.

Biggest Cost

Largest annual cost increase when moving to Monroe County, NY

Annual Increase:

$2,272 per year

HEALTHCARE has the largest annual increase when moving to Monroe County, NY.

Biggest Savings

Largest annual savings when moving to Monroe County, NY

Annual Savings:

$4,634 per year

HOUSING has the largest annual savings when moving to Monroe County, NY.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	-26.98% lower
Cook County, IL Monroe County, NY Average Cost $17178.00 $12544.00 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	-2.72% lower
Cook County, IL Monroe County, NY Average Cost $4662.00 $4535.00 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	16.75% higher
Cook County, IL Monroe County, NY Average Cost $10077.00 $11765.00 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	45.71% higher
Cook County, IL Monroe County, NY Average Cost $4971.00 $7243.00 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	-21.81% lower
Cook County, IL Monroe County, NY Average Cost $6781.00 $5302.00 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 Monroe 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	-9.14% lower
Cook County, IL Monroe County, NY Average Cost $11731.00 $10659.00 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 Monroe County, NY, modeled annual costs are $52,048 compared with $55,399 in Cook County, IL.

Overall, annual costs are lower in Monroe County, NY. The category breakdown above shows where the move creates the most room in the budget.

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

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