How much does an RN make in Illinois?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $86,410 for RNs in Illinois as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $79,150 and the 75th-percentile is $103,660.

How are Illinois RN salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How many RNs does Illinois employ?

BLS OES counts 139,900 RNs employed in Illinois in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for Illinois different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Illinois's overall index of 98.8 reflects rents 92.4, services 80.4, and goods 101.6.

How wide is the wage spread in Illinois?

P10 to P90 spans $64,930 to $112,320. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Illinois?

BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Illinois typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.

Travel RN vs staff RN in Illinois — which earns more on a real basis?

Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Illinois, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

How Much Do Registered Nurses Make in Illinois? $86K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Headline RN pay in Illinois is $86,410. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $87,502.
State ranks #24 nationally on nominal wage, #40 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $64,930 · P25 $79,150 · P75 $103,660 · P90 $112,320.
Illinois is not in the NLC compact; RNs need a state-specific license here, no multistate shortcut.

Wage breakdown — Illinois

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$64,930	$65,751
P25 (lower quartile)	$79,150	$80,150
P50 (median)	$86,410	$87,502
P75 (upper quartile)	$103,660	$104,970
P90 (top tier)	$112,320	$113,739
Mean	$91,130	$92,282
Employment	139,900 RNs in Illinois

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Illinois index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	98.8
Goods	101.6
Services	80.4
Rents	92.4

Illinois's overall RPP (98.8) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Illinois (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$86,410	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,257	11.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,277	4.95% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,610	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$65,265	75.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$66,090	÷ (98.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Illinois state-tax burden means for RN take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $65,265 (75.5% of gross). After the 98.8 RPP, real take-home is $66,090.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. Illinois sits at #24 on nominal pay and #40 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Illinois falls 16 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Licensure — Illinois (NLC)

Illinois is not currently a NLC member. RNs moving to Illinois must apply for a Illinois-issued license through endorsement; a multistate license from a Compact state alone is not sufficient. Endorsement timelines and fees are set by the Illinois Board of Nursing.

Legislative status (2026-05): SB 677 passed Senate 2023; held in House Health Care Licenses committee. Pending implementation language.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an RN make in Illinois?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $86,410 for RNs in Illinois as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $79,150 and the 75th-percentile is $103,660.
How are Illinois RN salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How many RNs does Illinois employ?: BLS OES counts 139,900 RNs employed in Illinois in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for Illinois different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Illinois's overall index of 98.8 reflects rents 92.4, services 80.4, and goods 101.6.
How wide is the wage spread in Illinois?: P10 to P90 spans $64,930 to $112,320. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
How does specialty (ICU, OR, NICU, ER, L&D) affect RN pay in Illinois?: BLS reports a single 'Registered Nurses' SOC code (29-1141), so the figures on this page are not specialty-segmented. In practice, ICU, NICU, and OR roles in Illinois typically pay 8-15% above the all-RN median; L&D and ER vary by hospital system. Travel-RN contracts can substantially exceed staff rates during demand spikes.
Travel RN vs staff RN in Illinois — which earns more on a real basis?: Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Illinois, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1141, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Illinois RN pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.