Poll: Taxes No. 1 issue for over half of Illinois voters, nearly half would move

More than half of Illinois voters said high taxes were the No. 1 concern for the state, according to an Illinois Policy Institute poll. Of those polled, nearly half said they would also move out of the state if given the chance.

More than half of Illinois voters polled said high taxes were the No. 1 issue facing the state in April 2025, according to a survey conducted for the Illinois Policy Institute.

High taxes were the top issue impacting the state for 54% of the voters – an increase of 2 percentage points from January – according to the poll of 550 registered Illinois voters conducted April 10-13 for the institute by M3 Strategies.

The economy came in second place, being ranked as a top issue by 33% of the voters. The economy was tied for the No. 3 issue in the January poll.

Voters were unhappy with their home state: 49.5% said they would move out of Illinois if given the opportunity, a slight increase from January. Only 40% said they would rather stay in Illinois. The remaining 10.5% said they were unsure.

Past surveys have shown high taxes were the No. 1 reason most Illinoisans considered leaving the state. Polling from NPR Illinois and the University of Illinois found 61% of Illinoisans thought about moving out of state in 2019, and the No. 1 reason was taxes.

Similar surveys conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute in 2016 and Echelon Insights in 2023 also found high taxes were the single biggest reason Illinoisans wanted to leave.

Illinois households already pay the nation’s highest combined state and local tax burden on the median U.S. income – accounting for 16.5% of their annual income. They also pay the nation’s second-highest property tax burden.

As a result, Illinois managed to lose a resident to another state every 9 minutes and 21 seconds between July 2023 and June 2024. Since 2020, the state has lost a total of 420,678 residents to domestic outmigration, according to Census estimates.

Illinois voters have made it clear higher taxes and a weak economy are their top concerns for the state. If state politicians refuse to acknowledge these realities and ignore why so many Illinoisans are leaving, the state can expect to see a continued exodus of residents.

To see more details about the poll, click here.