Moving? These Are 50 Most Affordable Places To Live In Illinois

For the longest time, Illinois was number-one in the country for a reason that no one wants to be number-one: Outbound migration. Outbound migration is a rather diplomatic term to describe people bailing on a state to move somewhere else.

While the small tapering off of people heading for Illinois' borders can be looked at as a good thing, we're still really high on the list of states in the country with people looking for an exit. When asked why they've decided to find another state in which to live, most ex-Illinoisans answer with just one word: Taxes.

If you're curious, here are the top 5 states experiencing the most outbound migration:

Illinois is now #5 in the United States when it comes to residents heading for the exits, having lost 344,000 (while gaining 228,000) residents to other states in 2022. The top 4, including the number of residents lost, would be these states:

• California (817,700)
• New York (545,600)
• Texas (494,000)
• Florida (489,900)

So, To Break It Down, You Want To Leave The Too-Expensive Illinois City You Live In, But You Don't Want To Leave The State Itself--Where Do You Go To Find An Affordable Spot In The Land Of Lincoln?

Niche.com just released their "2023 Places with the Lowest Cost of Living in Illinois" list, and their analysts took a look at multiple factors to come up with their list of the 50 places in Illinois with the overall "cheapest" cost of living. Things like:

• Housing
• Food costs
• Gas costs
• Median tax rates

These towns and cities are scattered throughout the state, and to be honest, there are more than a couple of places that I have never even heard of. Here they are in reverse order, according to Niche.com:

• 50. Pinckneyville
• 49. Carmi
• 48. Creve Coeur
• 47. Gilman
• 46. Kewanee
• 45. Havana
• 44. Harristown
• 43. Percy
• 42. Hartford
• 41. Abingdon
• 40. Benld
• 39. Hillsboro
• 38. Gillespie
• 37. Mitchell
• 36. Salem
• 35. Long Creek
• 34. Hoopeston
• 33. Paris
• 32. Savanna
• 31. Newton
• 30. Flora
• 29. Mount Carmel
• 28. Fairfield
• 27. Mount Sterling
• 26. Shelbyville
• 25. Westville
• 24. Beardstown
• 23. Litchfield
• 22. Benton
• 21. West Frankfort
• 20. Onarga
• 19. Pana
• 18. Carthage
• 17. Georgetown
• 16. Central City
• 15. Roodhouse
• 14. Monmouth
• 13. Chester
• 12. McLeansboro
• 11. Du Quoin
• 10. Olney
• 9. Tilton
• 8. Bushnell
• 7. Christopher
• 6. Nokomis
• 5. Jonesboro
• 4. Bridgeport (Not the Chicago neighborhood)
• 3. Eldorado
• 2. Johnston City
• 1. White Hall

To read Niche's full study, click here.