Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$83,112
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$30,248
26.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,075
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
$113,360
Kept after tax
$83,112
Worth in national money
$84,075
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 18 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $113,360. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Illinois. It ranks 42 out of 494 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $113,360, take-home of $83,112 is worth roughly $84,075 in national money. The average comes to $118,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois ranks 18 of 51 for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary at $113,360. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Illinois, education administrators, kindergarten through secondary ranks 42 of 494 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary, whose median is $113,360, the adjusted figure of $84,075 differs little from $83,112 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $118,420 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $78,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $113,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $169,400 |
| This salary | $113,360 |
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 | $83,112 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $88,579 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,079 |
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 | $105,590 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,778 |
| 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 $113,360. The published range is $78,070 up to $169,400, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Illinois's $83,112, worked from $113,360. 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 42 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $84,075 uses one figure for the whole of Illinois. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 494 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 42.
- Reported values are medians; for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $78,070 to $169,400. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Illinois take-home of $83,112, on $113,360 for work ranking 42 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 42 of 494 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $84,075, worked from $113,360, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Illinois address, on work sitting at 42 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 $118,420 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $78,070, the highest tenth $169,400, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $84,075.
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, $83,112 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 $118,420. 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 ($78,070) and the ninetieth ($169,400) 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 $84,075 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 $83,112 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.