Postal Service Mail Carriers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,126
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$12,944
20.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,695
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
$62,070
Kept after tax
$49,126
Worth in national money
$49,695
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois is one of the better-paying states for postal service mail carriers. The middle earner takes $62,070, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 2.51% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 242.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $62,070, take-home of $49,126 is worth roughly $49,695 in national money. The average comes to $63,500, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for postal service mail carriers, at $62,070 — about 2.51% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Illinois's occupational distribution, postal service mail carriers sits at 242 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 postal service mail carriers, whose median is $62,070, the adjusted figure of $49,695 differs little from $49,126 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $63,500 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Postal Service Mail Carriers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,040 |
| This salary | $62,070 |
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 | $49,126 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,053 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,872 |
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 | $58,426 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,683 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $62,070 as a midpoint for Illinois, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $43,120 and the ninetieth is $81,040 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $49,126 take-home in Illinois comes from $62,070. 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 242 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,695 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 242.
- The Illinois median of $62,070 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $43,120 to $81,040. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $49,126, from $62,070, 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 242 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,695, worked from $62,070, 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 242 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $43,120 and the top tenth $81,040, 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 $49,695.
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, $49,126 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 ($43,120 to $81,040) 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 $49,695 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 $49,126 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.