Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,342
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$8,448
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,752
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
$43,790
Kept after tax
$35,342
Worth in national money
$35,752
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for landscaping and groundskeeping workers is strong here. Illinois's middle earner gets $43,790, putting the state 17 of 51 — about 11.85% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Illinois this is lower-paid work. Of 494 occupations the state publishes figures for, landscaping and groundskeeping workers ranks 405. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $43,790, take-home of $35,342 is worth roughly $35,752 in national money. The average comes to $44,800, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For landscaping and groundskeeping workers, Illinois sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $43,790, ranking 17 of 51 and running about 11.85% 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.
- Against every occupation Illinois reports, landscaping and groundskeeping workers ranks 405 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.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for landscaping and groundskeeping workers, whose median is $43,790, the adjusted figure of $35,752 differs little from $35,342 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $44,800 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,190 |
| This salary | $43,790 |
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 | $35,342 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,365 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,700 |
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 | $41,272 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,265 |
| 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 $43,790. The published range is $32,010 up to $61,190, 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 $35,342, worked from $43,790. 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 405 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,752 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 405.
- Reported values are medians; for landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $32,010 to $61,190. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Illinois take-home of $35,342, on $43,790 for work ranking 405 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 405 of 494 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,752, worked from $43,790, 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 405 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $32,010 at the bottom tenth to $61,190 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $35,752 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Illinois adds its own income tax on top — which is why $35,342 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($32,010 to $61,190) 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 $35,752 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 $35,342 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.