Decatur vs Springfield leftover
You'd keep $139 more a month in Springfield
$2,919/mo leftover in Springfield vs $2,780 in Decatur after tax and rent ($139 more). +$1,668 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Decatur leftover
$2,780
a month after tax and rent
Springfield leftover
$2,919
+$139 vs Decatur
Compare Decatur to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Decatur.
Monthly gap
Decatur → Springfield
$139
more / month in Springfield
$2,919 in Springfield · $2,780 in Decatur · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 130 households moved Decatur → Springfield (avg AGI $56,377). 119 went the other way. The whole move →
+$139 / mo
| Per month | Decatur | Springfield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,208 | $7,677 | +$469 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,784 | $1,946 | +$162 |
| Take-home pay | $5,425 | $5,731 | +$307 |
| Rent | $699 | $904 | +$205 |
| Getting around | $577 | $539 | −$38 |
| Groceries | $378 | $378 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $425 | $425 | $0 |
| Utilities | $236 | $236 | $0 |
| Everything else | $330 | $330 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,780 | $2,919 | +$139 |
To break even in Springfield, you'd need to earn
$89,500
Household gross, versus $86,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Decatur does now.
The tax difference alone
−$279
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.7% in Decatur, 25.3% in Springfield.
More about Springfield
Decatur, IL in full
A flat 4.95% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $832 and 203 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
Springfield, IL in full
A flat 4.95% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,076 and 204 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Springfield on Springfield wages.
Springfield → Decatur →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Springfield than Decatur?
A one-bedroom is about $699 in Decatur versus $904 in Springfield. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $139 a month higher in Springfield. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Springfield have state income tax?
Springfield is in Illinois, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Decatur to Springfield?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Illinois tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Decatur and Springfield moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.