Helpers--Carpenters in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,752
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$8,908
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,178
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
$45,660
Kept after tax
$36,752
Worth in national money
$37,178
State rank
11
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois is one of the better-paying states for helpers--carpenters. The middle earner takes $45,660, which ranks 11 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 4.29% above the national middle.
- Within Illinois this is lower-paid work. Of 494 occupations the state publishes figures for, helpers--carpenters ranks 390. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $45,660 the take-home is $36,752, which is worth about $37,178 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $45,340, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Illinois ranks 11 of 47 states publishing a median for helpers--carpenters, at $45,660 — about 4.29% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation Illinois reports, helpers--carpenters ranks 390 of 494, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for helpers--carpenters on its $45,660 median: $36,752 retained after tax becomes $37,178 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $45,340 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,740 |
| This salary | $45,660 |
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 | $36,752 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,868 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,820 |
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 | $43,027 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,410 |
| 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 $45,660. The published range is $31,200 up to $59,740, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $36,752 take-home in Illinois comes from $45,660. 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 390 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,178 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 390.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--carpenters in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $59,740. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $36,752, from $45,660, 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 390 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 11 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,178, worked from $45,660, 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 390 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,200 at the tenth percentile, $59,740 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Illinois sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $37,178 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $36,752.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $59,740) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Illinois rather than a national figure.
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 $37,178 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 $36,752 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.