Pharmacy Aides in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,230
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$6,780
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,580
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
$37,010
Kept after tax
$30,230
Worth in national money
$30,580
State rank
25
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 25 of 48 states for pharmacy aides, with a middle wage of $37,010. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Illinois this is lower-paid work. Of 494 occupations the state publishes figures for, pharmacy aides ranks 456. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $37,010, take-home of $30,230 is worth roughly $30,580 in national money. The average comes to $37,760, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois ranks 25 of 48 for pharmacy aides at $37,010. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Illinois reports, pharmacy aides ranks 456 of 494, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for pharmacy aides, whose median is $37,010, the adjusted figure of $30,580 differs little from $30,230 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $37,760 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacy Aides
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,420 |
| This salary | $37,010 |
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 | $30,230 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,918 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,265 |
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 | $34,910 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,739 |
| 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 pharmacy aides in Illinois earn under $37,010 and half over. The published range runs $34,640 at the tenth percentile to $39,420 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Illinois's $30,230, worked from $37,010. 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 456 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,580 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 456.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacy aides in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,640 to $39,420; 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.
- The Illinois take-home of $30,230, on $37,010 for work ranking 456 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 456 of 494 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,580, worked from $37,010, 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 456 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $34,640 at the bottom tenth to $39,420 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $30,580 in national terms.
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, $30,230 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,640 to $39,420) 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 $30,580 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 $30,230 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.