Occupational Therapists in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,179
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$25,521
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,038
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
$99,700
Kept after tax
$74,179
Worth in national money
$75,038
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 22 of 51 states for occupational therapists, with a middle wage of $99,700. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Illinois this is well-paid work. Of 494 occupations with published figures in the state, occupational therapists ranks 83 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $99,700, take-home of $74,179 is worth roughly $75,038 in national money. The average lands at $99,570, below the middle of the range.
- Illinois ranks 22 of 51 for occupational therapists at $99,700. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Illinois publishes a median for, occupational therapists sits 83 of 494 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for occupational therapists, whose median is $99,700, the adjusted figure of $75,038 differs little from $74,179 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $99,570 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $73,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,180 |
| This salary | $99,700 |
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 | $74,179 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,969 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,227 |
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 | $92,891 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,601 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $99,700 as a midpoint for Illinois, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $73,360 and the ninetieth is $132,180 — 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 $74,179, worked from $99,700. 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 83 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $75,038 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 83.
- The Illinois median of $99,700 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $73,360 to $132,180. 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 $74,179, on $99,700 for work ranking 83 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 83 of 494 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $75,038, worked from $99,700, 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 83 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $73,360 at the bottom tenth to $132,180 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $75,038.
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, $74,179 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 ($73,360 to $132,180) 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 $75,038 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 $74,179 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.