Clergy in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,937
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$12,883
20.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,504
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
$61,820
Kept after tax
$48,937
Worth in national money
$49,504
State rank
16
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Illinois pays clergy a middle wage of $61,820, ranking 16 of 50 states and sitting about 1.66% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 249.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $61,820, take-home of $48,937 is worth roughly $49,504 in national money. The average comes to $62,490, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois's median for clergy is $61,820, about 1.66% above the national figure and 16 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Illinois's occupational distribution, clergy sits at 249 of 494 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for clergy, whose median is $61,820, the adjusted figure of $49,504 differs little from $48,937 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $62,490 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Clergy
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $86,390 |
| This salary | $61,820 |
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 | $48,937 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,852 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,856 |
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 | $58,192 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,663 |
| 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 $61,820. The published range is $36,760 up to $86,390, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $48,937 take-home in Illinois comes from $61,820. 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 249 of 494.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $49,504, the adjusted value of that $61,820 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 249 of 494 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for clergy in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,760 to $86,390. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $48,937, from $61,820, 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 249 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 16 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $49,504 — the adjusted value of that $61,820 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 249 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $36,760 at the bottom tenth to $86,390 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 $49,504 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 $48,937.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($36,760) and the ninetieth ($86,390) 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 $49,504 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 $48,937 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.