Having recently moved back to the state of Illinois from Montana, it immediately felt like everything in the Land of Lincoln cost quite a bit more than I was used to paying out in Big Sky country.

The first thing I noticed was the gas prices being almost $1 more a gallon than what I had been paying, and because there's no sales tax where I moved from in Yellowstone County, Montana when the taxes in Illinois hit me on everything from groceries to higher-ticket electronics, it was felt in the wallet.

But when it comes to overall home prices, rent, property taxes, and automobile insurance, it's quite a bit less here in Illinois than it is out west, in my experience.

As we aim our arrows to Valentine's Day next Tuesday, February 14, there's a "hot ticket" item you can purchase in Illinois for considerably less than if you buy it in almost any other state in America.

A new study by FinanceBuzz recently unveiled the cost of a dozen roses in every U.S. state, and it was surprising to find out how dramatically different prices are from state to state.

Overall the U.S. average for a dozen roses is $80.16, with Hawaii being the most expensive at $108.33 and Pennsylvania having the best value at $66.15, more than $40 less than Hawaii.

Illinois comes in with the 6th lowest average price for a dozen roses at $70.66, and across the border in Wisconsin, it's almost $10 more at $79.99 a dozen.

Here are the 5 states where it costs the least for a dozen roses, according to the FinanceBuzz survey:

  1. Pennsylvania $66.15
  2. Massachusetts $66.30
  3. Alaska $66.63
  4. Nebraska $68.32
  5. Oklahoma $69.98

The 5 states where it costs the most for a dozen roses:

  1. Hawaii $108.33
  2. Nevada $93.98
  3. Montana $92.00
  4. Idaho $91.98
  5. Washington $90.00

You can see the complete study and results from FinanceBuzz if you CLICK HERE.

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