Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,215
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$6,775
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,565
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
$36,990
Kept after tax
$30,215
Worth in national money
$30,565
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 21 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $36,990. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Illinois this is lower-paid work. Of 494 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 457. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $36,990, take-home of $30,215 is worth roughly $30,565 in national money. The average comes to $38,950, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois ranks 21 of 51 for teaching assistants, except postsecondary at $36,990. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Illinois reports, teaching assistants, except postsecondary ranks 457 of 494, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for teaching assistants, except postsecondary, whose median is $36,990, the adjusted figure of $30,565 differs little from $30,215 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $38,950 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,100 |
| This salary | $36,990 |
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 | $30,215 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,901 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,264 |
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 | $34,891 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,738 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Illinois earn less than $36,990. The published range is $31,200 up to $48,100, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $30,215 take-home in Illinois comes from $36,990. 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 457 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,565 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 457.
- Reported values are medians; for teaching assistants, except postsecondary in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $48,100. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $30,215, from $36,990, 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 457 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,565, worked from $36,990, 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 457 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $38,950 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,200 at the bottom tenth to $48,100 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 $30,565.
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 $30,215 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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Illinois is $38,950. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $48,100) 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 $30,565 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 $30,215 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.