Physical Therapist Assistants in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,516
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$13,724
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,112
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
$65,240
Kept after tax
$51,516
Worth in national money
$52,112
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 25 of 51 states for physical therapist assistants, with a middle wage of $65,240. 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 212.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $65,240, take-home of $51,516 is worth roughly $52,112 in national money. The average comes to $65,810, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois ranks 25 of 51 for physical therapist assistants at $65,240. 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, physical therapist assistants sits at 212 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.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for physical therapist assistants, whose median is $65,240, the adjusted figure of $52,112 differs little from $51,516 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $65,810 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Physical Therapist Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $41,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,890 |
| This salary | $65,240 |
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 | $51,516 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,600 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,075 |
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 | $61,401 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,929 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $65,240 as a midpoint for Illinois, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $41,600 and the ninetieth is $81,890 — 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 $51,516, worked from $65,240. 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 212 of 494.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $52,112, the adjusted value of that $65,240 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 212 of 494 in the state.
- The Illinois median of $65,240 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $41,600 to $81,890. 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 $51,516, on $65,240 for work ranking 212 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 212 of 494 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $52,112 — the adjusted value of that $65,240 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 212 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $41,600 and the top tenth $81,890, so most people doing this work in Illinois sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $52,112.
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 $51,516 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($41,600 to $81,890) 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 $52,112 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 $51,516 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.