Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,151
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$18,629
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,859
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
$79,780
Kept after tax
$61,151
Worth in national money
$61,859
State rank
16
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Illinois is 16 of 47 states for zoologists and wildlife biologists, with a middle wage of $79,780. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Zoologists and wildlife biologists ranks 143 among 494 occupations Illinois publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $79,780, take-home of $61,151 is worth roughly $61,859 in national money. The average comes to $82,210, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois ranks 16 of 47 for zoologists and wildlife biologists at $79,780. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 143 of 494 in Illinois places zoologists and wildlife biologists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for zoologists and wildlife biologists, whose median is $79,780, the adjusted figure of $61,859 differs little from $61,151 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $82,210 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $55,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $112,900 |
| This salary | $79,780 |
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 | $61,151 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,955 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,984 |
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 | $74,372 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,885 |
| 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 $79,780. The published range is $55,690 up to $112,900, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $61,151, from $79,780, 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 143 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 $61,859 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 143.
- Reported values are medians; for zoologists and wildlife biologists in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $55,690 to $112,900. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,151 from $79,780. 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 143 of 494 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $61,859, worked from $79,780, 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 143 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $82,210, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $55,690 and the top tenth $112,900, so most people doing this work in Illinois sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $61,859 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, $61,151 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $82,210. 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 ($55,690 to $112,900) 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 $61,859 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 $61,151 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.