Medical Assistants in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,077
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$9,013
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,506
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
$46,090
Kept after tax
$37,077
Worth in national money
$37,506
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois sits in the middle of the pack for medical assistants. The median is $46,090, ranking 21 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Illinois, this one sits low: 385 of 494 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $46,090 the take-home is $37,077, which is worth about $37,506 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $45,770, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Illinois occupies the middle band for medical assistants: a median of $46,090, ranking 21 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Medical assistants occupies position 385 of 494 in Illinois's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for medical assistants on its $46,090 median: $37,077 retained after tax becomes $37,506 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $45,770 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,590 |
| This salary | $46,090 |
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 | $37,077 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,213 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,847 |
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 | $43,431 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,443 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of medical assistants in Illinois earn under $46,090 and half over. The published range runs $36,400 at the tenth percentile to $56,590 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,077 take-home in Illinois comes from $46,090. 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 385 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,506 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 385.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical assistants in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,400 to $56,590; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $37,077, from $46,090, 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 385 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,506, worked from $46,090, 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 385 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,400 at the bottom tenth to $56,590 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 $37,506 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Illinois's own levy, $37,077 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,400 to $56,590) 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 $37,506 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 $37,077 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.