What’s The “Dream Income” Number For Illinois Residents?

This is kind of like the "genie comes out of a bottle and grants you three wishes" scenario, only you can't ask for a million wishes as your first request. Removing the "ask for more wishes" wish usually results in someone then saying "Alright, I wish for 100 billion dollars!"

That's not what happened with this particular study, though. When asked how much you'd need to live comfortably in and around the Chicago area, not one person answered with $100 billion. They were surprisingly reasonable in the amount they'd need.

So, Illinois resident, what kind of money would it take for you to live comfortably in the state of Illinois?

A Personal-Finance Website Took A Look At What Salary Is Needed To Achieve The "American Dream" In The 50 Largest Cities In The Country

GoBankingRates.com points out in their piece that many Americans have said they need to earn six-figure salaries to feel financially stable and successful. This amount of money is quickly becoming a non-negotiable factor for enjoying a good life:

GOBankingRates determined the household income necessary for achieving the American dream by analyzing the 50 largest U.S. cities based on population and sourcing key factors, such as annual grocery and child care costs and monthly mortgage expenses.

The annual cost of living was calculated using average mortgage and expenditure costs and the total cost of living was doubled to find the amount of household income necessary for a comfortable lifestyle.

According to the study, achieving the American dream and enjoying a comfortable lifestyle requires a minimum of earning $102,000 annually across the 50 largest U.S. cities...but it's more than that here in Illinois.

Before We Hit The Illinois Number Needed To Achieve The American Dream, Let's See What Some Of The Other Places On The List Required For That

The GoBankingRates.com study shows that Washington, DC is the city with the highest salary for achieving the American dream. To live comfortably, residents must earn $189,306 annually.

Washington, DC ($189,306), Boston ($175,628), New York ($173,006), San Francisco ($172,340) and San Jose ($167,958) each ranked in the top five. A salary of at least $167,000 is needed for a comfortable lifestyle in these high cost-of-living metro areas.

Nine California cities ranked in the top 50, the most from any state. To achieve the American dream in San Francisco (#4), San Jose (#5), Oakland (#6), Los Angeles (#7), Long Beach (#8), San Diego (#10), Sacramento (#13), Fresno (#15) and Bakersfield (#17), residents must earn a minimum of $143,000 annually.

Say What You Will About Illinois, Chicago, And The Chicago Area---At Least Our American Dream Comes Cheaper Than Many Places

And that number, according to the GoBankingRates.com study, is...

$132,000.

• Household income needed for the American dream: $131,868
• Total annual cost of living: $65,934
• Grocery costs per year: $8,807
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,813
• Child care cost per year: $27,054

Patch.com:

Meanwhile, the Midwest city with the highest annual salary needed to live comfortably was Minneapolis, which came in at #9 on the GOBankingRates.com survey, and where a $152,863 household income is needed to live the American Dream.

Milwaukee followed at #20 on the list, where a household income of $134,193 is needed to live comfortably, but the average monthly mortgage cost was also much lower than other populated cities, including Chicago, at $1,254 per month.