Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,486
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$25,684
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,349
Illinois costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Illinois — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$100,170
Kept after tax
$74,486
Worth in national money
$75,349
State rank
2
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $100,170, which ranks 2 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 33.58% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 494 occupations Illinois reports, this job comes in at 77 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $100,170, take-home of $74,486 is worth roughly $75,349 in national money. The average lands at $96,520, below the middle of the range.
- Illinois ranks 2 of 46 states publishing a median for camera operators, television, video, and film, at $100,170 — about 33.58% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Camera operators, television, video, and film ranks 77 of 494 occupations by median in Illinois, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for camera operators, television, video, and film, whose median is $100,170, the adjusted figure of $75,349 differs little from $74,486 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $96,520 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $100,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $133,940 |
| This salary | $100,170 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Illinois | $74,486 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,300 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,256 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $93,328 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,642 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $100,170 as a midpoint for Illinois, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,840 and the ninetieth is $133,940 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Illinois's $74,486, worked from $100,170. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 77 of 494.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $75,349, the adjusted value of that $100,170 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 77 of 494 in the state.
- The Illinois median of $100,170 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,840 to $133,940. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Illinois take-home of $74,486, on $100,170 for work ranking 77 of 494 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 77 of 494 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $75,349 — the adjusted value of that $100,170 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 77 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $96,520 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $38,840 at the bottom tenth to $133,940 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Illinois is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $75,349 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Illinois then takes its own share, leaving $74,486.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Illinois is $96,520. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($38,840) and the ninetieth ($133,940) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Illinois's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $75,349 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $74,486 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Illinois income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.