Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,995
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$9,965
19.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,458
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
$49,960
Kept after tax
$39,995
Worth in national money
$40,458
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 34 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $49,960. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 320.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $49,960 the take-home is $39,995, which is worth about $40,458 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $58,130, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Illinois ranks 34 of 51 for mental health and substance abuse social workers at $49,960. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Illinois's occupational distribution, mental health and substance abuse social workers sits at 320 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 mental health and substance abuse social workers on its $49,960 median: $39,995 retained after tax becomes $40,458 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $58,130 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,050 |
| This salary | $49,960 |
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 | $39,995 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,323 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,095 |
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 | $47,062 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,744 |
| 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 $49,960. The published range is $39,910 up to $79,050, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $39,995, from $49,960, 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 320 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 $40,458, the adjusted value of that $49,960 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 320 of 494 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for mental health and substance abuse social workers in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,910 to $79,050. 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 $39,995 from $49,960. 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 320 of 494 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $40,458 — the adjusted value of that $49,960 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 320 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $58,130 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $39,910 at the bottom tenth to $79,050 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $40,458 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, $39,995 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Illinois is $58,130. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($39,910) and the ninetieth ($79,050) 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 $40,458 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 $39,995 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.