Medical Records Specialists in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,881
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$11,559
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,400
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
$56,440
Kept after tax
$44,881
Worth in national money
$45,400
State rank
16
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Illinois pays medical records specialists a middle wage of $56,440, ranking 16 of 51 states and sitting about 10.36% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Medical records specialists ranks 296 among 494 occupations Illinois publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $56,440 the take-home is $44,881, which is worth about $45,400 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $57,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Illinois's median for medical records specialists is $56,440, about 10.36% above the national figure and 16 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Position 296 of 494 in Illinois places medical records specialists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for medical records specialists on its $56,440 median: $44,881 retained after tax becomes $45,400 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $57,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Records Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,440 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,520 |
| This salary | $56,440 |
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 | $44,881 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,530 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,511 |
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 | $53,143 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,246 |
| 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 records specialists in Illinois earn under $56,440 and half over. The published range runs $38,890 at the tenth percentile to $77,520 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $44,881, from $56,440, 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 296 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 $45,400, the adjusted value of that $56,440 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 296 of 494 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical records specialists in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,890 to $77,520; 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.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $44,881 from $56,440. 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 296 of 494 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $45,400 — the adjusted value of that $56,440 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 296 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,890 at the tenth percentile, $77,520 at the ninetieth.
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 $45,400 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, $44,881 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 ($38,890 to $77,520) 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 $45,400 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 $44,881 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.