Illinois · BLS May 2025

Middle School Teacher Salary in Illinois

BLS records this occupation as Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education” (SOC 25-2022).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 24,770 middle school teachers working in Illinois. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.

Median pay · Illinois

$76,110A year. BLS publishes no hourly wage for this occupation.
Take-home a month$4,896After federal, state and FICA tax at 22.8%
Worth at national prices$76,142Prices here sit at 100 against 100
Against the nation18.2% aboveNational median $64,370
What middle school teachers earn in Illinois, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$47,810Not published
25th percentile$59,440Not published
MedianHalf earn more, half less$76,110Not published
75th percentile$94,520Not published
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$105,580Not published
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$75,870Not published
How we got this
  1. Median wage in IllinoisBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of middle school teachers earned more than this, half less.$76,110
  2. Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$4,896 a month at an effective rate of 22.8%.$58,751 a year
  3. Worth at national average pricesPrices in Illinois sit at 100 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$76,142
  4. Against the national medianThe national median is $64,370.18.2% above
  5. Jobs countedA concentration of 1.02 against the nation's 1.00.24,770
What we assumed
  • Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
  • OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
  • Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
  • BLS publishes only an annual wage for this occupation, because a standard 2,080-hour year would misdescribe it.
  • Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details

Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1

What lands in the bank

A $76,110 salary in Illinois, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.

  • Federal income tax. $7,914 a year.
  • State income tax. $3,623 a year.
  • Social Security and Medicare. $5,822 a year.
  • Left over. $58,751 a year, $4,896 a month, an effective rate of 22.8%.

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What $76,110 is worth in Illinois

Prices in Illinois sit at 100 against a national average of 100, so $76,110 earned here buys what $76,142 buys at national average prices.

  • Rents. 93.9 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
  • Against local households. The median household in Illinois takes in $83,390, so this occupation's median is 0.91 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 2% more concentrated in Illinois than in the country as a whole.

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Common questions

Middle School Teacher pay in Illinois, answered

How much does a middle school teacher make in Illinois?

The median wage for middle school teachers in Illinois is $76,110 a year.

Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.

What is the take-home pay for a middle school teacher in Illinois?

On the median wage of $76,110, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $58,751 a year, or roughly $4,896 a month.

That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 22.8%.

Illinois takes $3,623 of it in state income tax.

Do middle school teachers earn more in Illinois than in the rest of the country?

Yes. The median in Illinois is 18.2% above the national median of $64,370.

Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Illinois sit at 100 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.

Is $76,110 a good salary in Illinois?

It is 0.91 times the median household income of $83,390. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.

Prices in Illinois run at 100 against a national average of 100, with rents at 93.9, so $76,110 here buys about what $76,142 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid middle school teachers earn in Illinois?

The top tenth earn $105,580 a year or more, against $47,810 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Illinois someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.

How many middle school teachers are there in Illinois?

The survey counted 24,770 of these jobs in Illinois for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 2% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from