Postmasters and Mail Superintendents in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,085
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$23,885
25.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,909
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
$94,970
Kept after tax
$71,085
Worth in national money
$71,909
State rank
31
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $94,970, ranking 31 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Illinois this is well-paid work. Of 494 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 97 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $94,970 the take-home is $71,085, which is worth about $71,909 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $96,970, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Illinois occupies the middle band for postmasters and mail superintendents: a median of $94,970, ranking 31 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Illinois publishes a median for, postmasters and mail superintendents sits 97 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.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for postmasters and mail superintendents on its $94,970 median: $71,085 retained after tax becomes $71,909 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $96,970 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Postmasters and Mail Superintendents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $85,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $94,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $110,550 |
| This salary | $94,970 |
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 | $71,085 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,641 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,932 |
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 | $88,493 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,194 |
| 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 postmasters and mail superintendents in Illinois earn under $94,970 and half over. The published range runs $85,280 at the tenth percentile to $110,550 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $71,085 take-home in Illinois comes from $94,970. 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 97 of 494.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $71,909, the adjusted value of that $94,970 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 97 of 494 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for postmasters and mail superintendents in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $85,280 to $110,550; 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 $71,085, from $94,970, 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 97 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 31 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $71,909 — the adjusted value of that $94,970 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 97 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $85,280 at the bottom tenth to $110,550 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Illinois sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $71,909 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $71,085 remains.
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 ($85,280 to $110,550) 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 $71,909 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 $71,085 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.