Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,806
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$12,514
20.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,360
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
$60,320
Kept after tax
$47,806
Worth in national money
$48,360
State rank
15
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Illinois's middle earner gets $60,320, putting the state 15 of 51 — about 2.86% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 267.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $60,320, take-home of $47,806 is worth roughly $48,360 in national money. The average comes to $62,430, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, Illinois sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $60,320, ranking 15 of 51 and running about 2.86% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Illinois's occupational distribution, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers sits at 267 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 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, whose median is $60,320, the adjusted figure of $48,360 differs little from $47,806 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $62,430 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $86,300 |
| This salary | $60,320 |
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 | $47,806 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,647 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,760 |
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 | $56,784 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,547 |
| 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 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Illinois earn under $60,320 and half over. The published range runs $39,710 at the tenth percentile to $86,300 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $47,806, from $60,320, 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 267 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 $48,360 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 267.
- Figures are distribution medians for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,710 to $86,300; 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.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $47,806 from $60,320. 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 267 of 494 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $48,360, worked from $60,320, 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 267 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 $62,430, 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 $39,710 at the bottom tenth to $86,300 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 $48,360.
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, $47,806 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 $62,430. 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 ($39,710) and the ninetieth ($86,300) 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 $48,360 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 $47,806 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.