Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,742
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$5,968
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,063
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
$33,710
Kept after tax
$27,742
Worth in national money
$28,063
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Illinois pays this job around $33,710 at the midpoint, 19 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 494 occupations Illinois publishes, this job lands at 489. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $33,710, take-home of $27,742 is worth roughly $28,063 in national money. The average comes to $34,230, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers the Illinois median is $33,710, ranking 19 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Illinois, this work ranks 489 of 494 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, whose median is $33,710, the adjusted figure of $28,063 differs little from $27,742 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $34,230 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,050 |
| This salary | $33,710 |
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 | $27,742 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,266 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,053 |
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 | $31,813 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,483 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $33,710 as a midpoint for Illinois, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,200 and the ninetieth is $37,050 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Illinois's $27,742, worked from $33,710. 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 489 of 494.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,063, the adjusted value of that $33,710 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 489 of 494 in the state.
- The Illinois median of $33,710 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,200 to $37,050. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Illinois take-home of $27,742, on $33,710 for work ranking 489 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 489 of 494 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $28,063 — the adjusted value of that $33,710 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 489 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 $37,050, 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 $28,063 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 $27,742.
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 $37,050) 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 $28,063 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 $27,742 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.