Construction Laborers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,085
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$12,605
20.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,642
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
$60,690
Kept after tax
$48,085
Worth in national money
$48,642
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Illinois pays construction laborers a middle wage of $60,690, ranking 4 of 51 states and sitting about 28.8% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 263.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $60,690, take-home of $48,085 is worth roughly $48,642 in national money. The average comes to $67,620, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois's median for construction laborers is $60,690, about 28.8% above the national figure and 4 of 51 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, construction laborers sits at 263 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 construction laborers, whose median is $60,690, the adjusted figure of $48,642 differs little from $48,085 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $67,620 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Construction Laborers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,690 |
| Top tenth earn over | $105,040 |
| This salary | $60,690 |
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 | $48,085 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,944 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,783 |
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 | $57,131 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,576 |
| 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 construction laborers in Illinois earn under $60,690 and half over. The published range runs $38,880 at the tenth percentile to $105,040 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Illinois's $48,085, worked from $60,690. 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 263 of 494.
- Two cautions on $48,642, the adjusted value of that $60,690 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 263 of 494 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for construction laborers in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,880 to $105,040; 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.
- The Illinois take-home of $48,085, on $60,690 for work ranking 263 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 263 of 494 in the state.
- This $48,642 adjusted figure, worked from $60,690, 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 263 of 494 in the state. The occupation ranks 263 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $67,620, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $38,880 at the bottom tenth to $105,040 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $48,642.
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 $48,085.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $67,620. 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 ($38,880) and the ninetieth ($105,040) 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 $48,642 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 $48,085 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.