Massage Therapists in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,934
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$12,556
20.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,489
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
$60,490
Kept after tax
$47,934
Worth in national money
$48,489
State rank
23
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois sits in the middle of the pack for massage therapists. The median is $60,490, ranking 23 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 266.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $60,490 the take-home is $47,934, which is worth about $48,489 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $60,440, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Illinois occupies the middle band for massage therapists: a median of $60,490, ranking 23 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Illinois's occupational distribution, massage therapists sits at 266 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.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for massage therapists on its $60,490 median: $47,934 retained after tax becomes $48,489 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $60,440 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Massage Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,910 |
| This salary | $60,490 |
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 | $47,934 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,784 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,771 |
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 | $56,944 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,560 |
| 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 $60,490. The published range is $33,770 up to $82,910, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $47,934, from $60,490, 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 266 of 494 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $48,489, the adjusted value of that $60,490 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 266 of 494 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for massage therapists in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,770 to $82,910. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $47,934 from $60,490. 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 266 of 494 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $48,489 — the adjusted value of that $60,490 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 266 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $33,770 at the bottom tenth to $82,910 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $48,489 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 $47,934.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($33,770) and the ninetieth ($82,910) 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 $48,489 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 $47,934 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.