Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,881
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$6,339
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,215
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
$35,220
Kept after tax
$28,881
Worth in national money
$29,215
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 22 of 51 states for laundry and dry-cleaning workers, with a middle wage of $35,220. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Illinois this is lower-paid work. Of 494 occupations the state publishes figures for, laundry and dry-cleaning workers ranks 478. 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 $35,220, take-home of $28,881 is worth roughly $29,215 in national money. The average comes to $35,630, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois ranks 22 of 51 for laundry and dry-cleaning workers at $35,220. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Illinois reports, laundry and dry-cleaning workers ranks 478 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 laundry and dry-cleaning workers, whose median is $35,220, the adjusted figure of $29,215 differs little from $28,881 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $35,630 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $40,460 |
| This salary | $35,220 |
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 | $28,881 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,479 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,150 |
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 | $33,230 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,600 |
| 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 $35,220. The published range is $31,200 up to $40,460, 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 $28,881, worked from $35,220. 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 478 of 494.
- Two cautions on $29,215, the adjusted value of that $35,220 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Illinois. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 478 of 494 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for laundry and dry-cleaning workers in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $40,460. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Illinois take-home of $28,881, on $35,220 for work ranking 478 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 478 of 494 in the state.
- This $29,215 adjusted figure, worked from $35,220, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 478 of 494 in the state. The occupation ranks 478 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,200 and the top tenth $40,460, so most people doing this work in Illinois sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Illinois is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $29,215 in national terms.
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 $28,881.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $40,460) 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 $29,215 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 $28,881 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.