Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$97,273
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$38,157
28.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$98,400
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
$135,430
Kept after tax
$97,273
Worth in national money
$98,400
State rank
2
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Illinois pays this job a middle wage of $135,430, ranking 2 of 48 states and sitting about 23.94% above the national middle.
- Within Illinois this is well-paid work. Of 494 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 20 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $135,430 the take-home is $97,273, which is worth about $98,400 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $136,180, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Illinois's median for engineering teachers, postsecondary is $135,430, about 23.94% above the national figure and 2 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Illinois publishes a median for, engineering teachers, postsecondary sits 20 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 engineering teachers, postsecondary on its $135,430 median: $97,273 retained after tax becomes $98,400 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $136,180 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $135,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $222,540 |
| This salary | $135,430 |
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 | $97,273 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $103,832 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,451 |
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 | $125,834 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$12,015 |
| 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 $135,430. The published range is $64,070 up to $222,540, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $97,273, from $135,430, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 20 of 494 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $98,400 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 20.
- Reported values are medians; for engineering teachers, postsecondary in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $64,070 to $222,540. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $97,273 from $135,430. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 20 of 494 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $98,400, worked from $135,430, 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 20 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $64,070 and the top tenth $222,540 — 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 $98,400.
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 $97,273.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 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 ($64,070) and the ninetieth ($222,540) 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 $98,400 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 $97,273 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.