School Bus Monitors in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,840
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$6,000
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,163
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
$33,840
Kept after tax
$27,840
Worth in national money
$28,163
State rank
31
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois sits in the middle of the pack for school bus monitors. The median is $33,840, ranking 31 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Illinois, this one sits low: 487 of 494 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $33,840 the take-home is $27,840, which is worth about $28,163 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $34,380, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Illinois occupies the middle band for school bus monitors: a median of $33,840, 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.
- School bus monitors occupies position 487 of 494 in Illinois's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for school bus monitors on its $33,840 median: $27,840 retained after tax becomes $28,163 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $34,380 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: School Bus Monitors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $38,390 |
| This salary | $33,840 |
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 | $27,840 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,370 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,062 |
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 | $31,935 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,493 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $33,840 as a midpoint for Illinois, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,200 and the ninetieth is $38,390 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $27,840, from $33,840, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 487 of 494 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,163 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 487.
- The Illinois median of $33,840 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,200 to $38,390. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $27,840 from $33,840. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 487 of 494 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,163, worked from $33,840, 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 487 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,200 at the bottom tenth to $38,390 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 $28,163 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, $27,840 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 ($31,200 to $38,390) 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 $28,163 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 $27,840 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.