What salary do you need to live in Kankakee, IL?

The cost side of living in Kankakee

Renters in Kankakee pay a median $1,089 a month for two bedrooms. Size matters: one bedroom is $818, three bedrooms $1,332, so going from the smallest to the largest of the three adds $6,168 a year.

On the ownership side, the typical owner-occupied home is valued at $192,600. That is only 2.7× the area's median household income of $71,281, a low ratio by national standards.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 96.4 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in Kankakee has the buying power of roughly $103,741 at national average prices.

How much you need to earn in Kankakee

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $30,000 for Tight, $60,000 for Okay and $120,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $60,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

Reaching Royal takes $406,000 — 3.4× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Kankakee.

Kankakee at four common salaries

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 56 and a three-bedroom 49, both Okay; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

Of the four salaries, $150,000 is the first where a two-bedroom reads Comfortable or better; $100,000 still lands at Okay.

Where Kankakee falls nationally

Ranked against all 387 metros, Kankakee sits 142nd on overall price level and 226th on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 317th.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Pittsburgh, PA ($1,090) and Cleveland, OH ($1,088).

Kankakee vs. the rest of Illinois

How Kankakee stacks up against its state: $1,089 for a two-bedroom against Illinois's $1,284, $192,600 for the median home against $263,300, and a price level of 96.4 against 100.0.

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $164,000, so Kankakee needs $44,000 less than Illinois overall.

If Kankakee is on your list, Champaign-Urbana, IL, Bloomington, IL, and St. Louis, MO-IL are the most similar Illinois metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

Where the typical Kankakee household lands

The median household in the metro earns $71,281 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 50, Okay. Reaching Comfortable would take $48,719 more than the median household earns. For Illinois as a whole, the median household income of $83,390 scores 46 against statewide rents. Household income can include more than one earner, so a single salary of the same size goes less far.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.