Speech-Language Pathologists in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,157
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$23,923
25.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,981
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
$95,080
Kept after tax
$71,157
Worth in national money
$71,981
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 22 of 51 states for speech-language pathologists, with a middle wage of $95,080. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 494 occupations Illinois reports, speech-language pathologists comes in at 96 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $95,080, take-home of $71,157 is worth roughly $71,981 in national money. The average lands at $92,660, below the middle of the range.
- Illinois ranks 22 of 51 for speech-language pathologists at $95,080. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Speech-language pathologists ranks 96 of 494 occupations by median in Illinois, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for speech-language pathologists, whose median is $95,080, the adjusted figure of $71,981 differs little from $71,157 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $92,660 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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: Speech-Language Pathologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $123,800 |
| This salary | $95,080 |
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 | $71,157 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,719 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,939 |
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 | $88,596 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,203 |
| 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 speech-language pathologists in Illinois earn under $95,080 and half over. The published range runs $60,870 at the tenth percentile to $123,800 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $71,157 take-home in Illinois comes from $95,080. 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 96 of 494.
- Two cautions on $71,981, the adjusted value of that $95,080 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Illinois. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 96 of 494 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for speech-language pathologists in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $60,870 to $123,800; 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 $71,157, from $95,080, 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 96 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- This $71,981 adjusted figure, worked from $95,080, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 96 of 494 in the state. The occupation ranks 96 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $60,870 at the bottom tenth to $123,800 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $71,981.
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 $71,157 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 ($60,870 to $123,800) 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 $71,981 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 $71,157 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.