Chemists in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,715
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$20,515
24.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,465
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
$85,230
Kept after tax
$64,715
Worth in national money
$65,465
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Illinois pays chemists around $85,230 at the midpoint, 29 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within Illinois this is well-paid work. Of 494 occupations with published figures in the state, chemists ranks 115 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $85,230, take-home of $64,715 is worth roughly $65,465 in national money. The average comes to $98,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For chemists the Illinois median is $85,230, ranking 29 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Ranked against every occupation Illinois publishes a median for, chemists sits 115 of 494 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for chemists, whose median is $85,230, the adjusted figure of $65,465 differs little from $64,715 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $98,420 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $141,310 |
| This salary | $85,230 |
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 | $64,715 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,789 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,324 |
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 | $79,439 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,355 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Illinois earn less than $85,230. The published range is $60,740 up to $141,310, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $64,715 take-home in Illinois comes from $85,230. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 115 of 494.
- Two cautions on $65,465, the adjusted value of that $85,230 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Illinois. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 115 of 494 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for chemists in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,740 to $141,310. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $64,715, from $85,230, assumes a single Illinois filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 115 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 51 for it.
- This $65,465 adjusted figure, worked from $85,230, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 115 of 494 in the state. The occupation ranks 115 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $98,420, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $60,740 and the top tenth $141,310 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $65,465.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Illinois's own levy, $64,715 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $98,420. 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 ($60,740) and the ninetieth ($141,310) 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 $65,465 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 $64,715 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.