Civil Engineers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,218
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$25,542
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,077
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
$99,760
Kept after tax
$74,218
Worth in national money
$75,077
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois sits in the middle of the pack for civil engineers. The median is $99,760, ranking 22 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Illinois this is well-paid work. Of 494 occupations with published figures in the state, civil engineers ranks 82 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $99,760 the take-home is $74,218, which is worth about $75,077 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $105,390, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Illinois occupies the middle band for civil engineers: a median of $99,760, ranking 22 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Illinois publishes a median for, civil engineers sits 82 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.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for civil engineers on its $99,760 median: $74,218 retained after tax becomes $75,077 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $105,390 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Civil Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $69,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $157,410 |
| This salary | $99,760 |
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 | $74,218 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,011 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,231 |
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 | $92,946 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,606 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of civil engineers in Illinois earn under $99,760 and half over. The published range runs $69,590 at the tenth percentile to $157,410 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $74,218 take-home in Illinois comes from $99,760. 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 82 of 494.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $75,077, the adjusted value of that $99,760 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 82 of 494 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for civil engineers in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $69,590 to $157,410; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $74,218, from $99,760, 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 82 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $75,077 — the adjusted value of that $99,760 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 82 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 $105,390, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $69,590 at the bottom tenth to $157,410 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Illinois sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $75,077 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $74,218 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 $105,390. 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 ($69,590) and the ninetieth ($157,410) 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 $75,077 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 $74,218 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.