Median pay · Illinois
$51,960A year, or $25 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile1 in 10 earn less | $32,900 | $16 |
| 25th percentile | $37,960 | $18 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $51,960 | $25 |
| 75th percentile | $83,060 | $40 |
| 90th percentile1 in 10 earn more | $127,770 | $61 |
| MeanAll pay divided by all jobs | $71,130 | $34 |
All occupations combined. Individual occupations vary far more than this figure suggests. The tables below show the spread.
How we got this
- Median wage in IllinoisBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of all wage earners here were paid more than this, half less.$51,960
- Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$24.98
- Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$3,459 a month at an effective rate of 20.1%.$41,503 a year
- Worth at national average pricesPrices in Illinois sit at 100 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$51,982
- Against the national medianThe national median is $50,980.1.9% above
- Jobs countedWage and salary jobs; the self-employed are not surveyed.6,098,130
What we assumed
- Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
- OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
- Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
- Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
Questions
Pay in Illinois: common questions
What is the average salary in Illinois?
$71,130 a year, or $34.20 an hour, across every job the Bureau of Labor Statistics surveyed in Illinois for May 2025.
The median is lower, $51,960: half of workers earn more and half earn less. The average sits above it because a smaller number of very high salaries pull it up, so the median is closer to what a typical worker makes.
What is a good salary in Illinois?
Anything over $51,960 pays more than half the jobs in Illinois. $83,060 puts you in the top quarter and $127,770 in the top 10%.
A single person on the median keeps about $3,459 a month after federal, state and FICA tax.
What are the highest-paying jobs in Illinois?
By median pay: cardiologists ($517,850), orthopedic surgeons ($426,580), chief executives ($331,920), airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers ($293,490) and nurse anesthetists ($286,830). The table on this page lists the top 25.
What are the most common jobs in Illinois?
By number of jobs: laborers or material movers ($40,550), general or operations managers ($103,570), cashiers ($34,490), registered nurses ($95,990) and home health or personal care aides ($38,060), with the median pay for each.