Occupational Therapy Assistants in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,671
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$13,449
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,258
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
$64,120
Kept after tax
$50,671
Worth in national money
$51,258
State rank
38
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Illinois. The middle earner gets $64,120. That is 38 of 50 states, and about 11.31% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 223 among 494 occupations Illinois publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $64,120, take-home of $50,671 is worth roughly $51,258 in national money. The average comes to $65,580, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For occupational therapy assistants, Illinois sits in the lower band at $64,120, ranking 38 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 11.31%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 223 of 494 in Illinois places occupational therapy assistants 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.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for occupational therapy assistants, whose median is $64,120, the adjusted figure of $51,258 differs little from $50,671 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $65,580 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapy Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,150 |
| This salary | $64,120 |
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 | $50,671 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,700 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,003 |
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 | $60,350 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,842 |
| 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 occupational therapy assistants in Illinois earn under $64,120 and half over. The published range runs $47,830 at the tenth percentile to $80,150 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $50,671 take-home in Illinois comes from $64,120. 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 223 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,258 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 223.
- Figures are distribution medians for occupational therapy assistants in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,830 to $80,150; 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 $50,671, from $64,120, 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 223 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,258, worked from $64,120, 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 223 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $47,830 at the tenth percentile, $80,150 at the ninetieth.
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 $51,258 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Illinois adds its own income tax on top — which is why $50,671 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,830 to $80,150) 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 $51,258 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 $50,671 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.