Registered Nurse Salary in Illinois: Pay by Experience, City & Take-Home

A registered nurse in Illinois earns a median of $95,990 a year ($46.15 an hour), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That runs about 2% below the national RN median of $97,550, putting Illinois just under the national midpoint on gross pay. But the state pairs that figure with a flat income tax and living costs that, outside the Chicago core, sit close to the national average, so the take-home math is more favorable than the headline gap suggests. Here is the full breakdown of what you earn at each career stage, which Illinois metros pay the most, what the paycheck looks like after tax, and the concrete ways to push your number higher.

How Illinois RN pay compares to the national median

At $95,990, the typical Illinois registered nurse earns about 2% less than the national median of $97,550, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025). On gross pay, Illinois sits just below the national midpoint, close enough that most nurses will not feel the difference on the headline number.

What shapes the real picture is the rest of the math. Illinois taxes income at a single flat rate, which means a six-figure nursing salary is taxed at the same rate as a much smaller one, an advantage relative to states with steep progressive brackets at higher incomes. And while Chicago and its inner suburbs carry living costs above the national average, much of downstate Illinois runs at or below it, with housing notably cheaper than the coastal metros. A nurse comparing an Illinois offer to one in a higher-grossing but higher-tax state should weigh take-home after tax and housing, where Illinois holds its own.

The honest read is that Illinois is a slightly-below-midpoint state on gross RN pay, lifted toward the middle once tax and downstate living costs are factored in. It will not match California or New York on the headline number, but the flat tax and moderate costs outside Chicago make the median go further than the raw figure implies.

Registered nurse salary in Illinois by experience

RN pay in Illinois climbs steadily across a career. The gap between a new graduate and a senior, specialized nurse is roughly $49,000 a year. These are the BLS wage percentiles for Illinois, which map cleanly onto career stages:

New-grad pay in Illinois, around $69,170, is solid for a role that usually requires an associate degree and a license, and it sits close to the national entry point. The climb to the median is steady, and the top of the band is healthy: the 90th percentile of $118,190 is more than $12,000 above the 75th, meaning senior and specialized nurses still command a clear premium. The reliable way to reach those upper bands in Illinois is a mix of specialty, certification, and the Chicago-area pay premium, rather than tenure alone.

These figures are base wages. They do not include shift differentials for nights and weekends, on-call pay, or overtime, all of which are common in Illinois nursing and can add several thousand dollars a year on top.

What affects a registered nurse’s pay in Illinois

Before the city and experience tables, it helps to know which factors actually move an RN’s salary in Illinois, because they explain the wide spread you will see below:

• Metro: Chicago versus downstate. The Chicago region pays well above the downstate metros, a spread of nearly $20,000 at the median, as the metro table below shows.
• Experience and tenure. As the percentile table shows, moving from entry level to senior lifts pay by roughly $49,000.
• Specialty and unit acuity. Critical care, emergency, operating room, and labor and delivery nurses earn above general medical-surgical floors. Specialized roles like nurse anesthetists sit far higher still.
• Work setting. Nationally, the highest-paying employers of RNs are not bedside hospital roles. Government nursing and university health systems pay national medians well above the typical hospital. Illinois has large academic medical centers in Chicago that serve as a route to the upper bands.
• Shift and overtime. Night, weekend, and on-call differentials, plus overtime, are standard in nursing and can add several thousand dollars a year on top of base.

Registered nurse salary in Illinois by city

Where you work inside Illinois changes your pay meaningfully. The Chicago region pays a clear premium, while the downstate metros sit well below it. These are the highest-employment Illinois metro areas for registered nurses and their median pay (BLS metropolitan data, 2025):

The Chicago metro dominates the table, at $100,490 and roughly 5% above the state median, driven by the dense hospital networks of the city and its suburbs and the high cost of living that comes with them. Note that this metro spans into northwest Indiana, so the figure reflects the broader Chicago labor market. The downstate metros cluster well below: Springfield, the state capital, leads the rest at $84,220, with Peoria and Rockford at the bottom near $81,000, about 16% under the state figure. The St. Louis metro, which reaches across the river into Illinois, sits at $83,180 and reflects the Missouri-Illinois border market rather than Illinois pay alone. The pattern is clear: Chicago pays the premium, and it also carries the state’s highest housing costs, so the downstate gap on take-home is smaller than the gross numbers suggest.

One more lever worth knowing: travel and per-diem nursing. Within Illinois, travel assignments frequently post weekly rates that annualize well above the staff median, particularly when a Chicago-area system is short-staffed. For a nurse willing to move between assignments, that can be the fastest route to the upper percentiles without changing specialty.

How Illinois compares to nearby and similar states

Illinois RN pay makes the most sense alongside its neighbors and peer states (BLS state medians, 2025):

Illinois sits in the middle of this group, nearly level with Pennsylvania and Texas and about $44,000 below California’s chart-topping median. The comparison with neighboring Ohio is the most striking: Illinois pays a median about $13,000 higher than Ohio for the same license, a meaningful gap between two midwestern neighbors. Against Texas, Illinois’s gross is essentially identical, but Texas has no income tax while Illinois levies a flat one, which gives Texas a take-home edge on the same salary. Compared with California and New York, Illinois grosses less but carries lower living costs and a flat tax rather than the steep progressive brackets those states apply to six-figure earners.

Cost of living and what the salary is really worth

A salary only means something against what it costs to live. Illinois is a state of two cost pictures: the Chicago metro runs above the national average, with housing the main driver, while much of downstate Illinois sits at or below it. For a nurse outside the Chicago core, the median of $95,990 stretches close to the national average, and further still in the lower-cost downstate metros.

The tax structure is the quiet factor here. Illinois applies a single flat income tax rate to all earners, so a six-figure nursing salary is taxed at the same rate as a far smaller one, unlike the progressive systems in California and New York that lift the marginal rate as income rises. On the $95,990 median, your take-home depends on filing status, retirement contributions, and health premiums. Run your exact salary through our Illinois paycheck calculator to see your real monthly take-home after federal tax, FICA, and Illinois state tax. If you file a W-2 return, many nurses use tax software like TurboTax to handle the federal and state filing together.

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The summary: Illinois pays just below the national median on gross, and the flat tax plus moderate downstate living costs pull the real value back toward the middle. Chicago pays the premium but carries the highest costs; downstate trades lower pay for cheaper living.

How Illinois nurses are actually paid: hourly, differentials, and overtime

The annual median is a useful benchmark, but most Illinois hospital nurses are paid hourly, and the base rate is only part of the story. Understanding the full structure helps you compare offers properly:

• Base hourly rate. The $46.15 median is the starting point. A 12-hour, three-shifts-a-week schedule built on that rate produces the annual figure.
• Shift differentials. Nights typically add a few dollars an hour, and weekends often add more. A nurse working mostly nights and weekends can lift effective pay well above the base.
• Overtime. Hours beyond the scheduled week are usually paid at time-and-a-half. In short-staffed units, overtime is frequent and is a major reason some nurses clear the 75th and 90th percentile figures.
• On-call and charge pay. Carrying a pager or running a shift as charge nurse adds further premiums.
• Per-diem and travel. Per-diem nurses trade benefits for a higher hourly rate, and travel assignments within Illinois can pay weekly rates that annualize well above staff pay.

When you compare two Illinois nursing offers, weigh the full effective hourly rate including differentials and expected overtime, not just the advertised base.

The nursing career ladder in Illinois, and what each step pays

One reason nursing is such a durable career is the clear, salary-backed ladder above and below the staff RN role. Each step below is a real BLS-measured Illinois median:

The jumps are substantial and worth planning around. Moving from LPN to RN adds nearly $21,000 at the median, and the step from RN to nurse practitioner adds roughly $35,000. Illinois nurse practitioners earn a median of $130,680, well above the staff RN line and above the state’s 90th-percentile RN figure, which makes the credential the clearest route past the top of the RN band. It is also worth noting that Illinois LPNs, at a $75,000 median, earn well above the national LPN median, so even the entry rung of the ladder pays better here than in most states. For a nurse mapping a long-term earning trajectory, the biggest gains come from advancing the credential. Nurse anesthetists sit higher still, though that path requires doctoral-level training.

How to earn more as a registered nurse in Illinois

The median is a floor you can build on, not a ceiling. The most reliable ways Illinois RNs move into the 75th and 90th percentile bands shown above:

• Move into a high-acuity specialty. ICU, emergency, operating room, and labor and delivery roles consistently pay above general medical-surgical nursing. These units also open the door to certifications that carry their own pay bumps.
• Get certified. Credentials like CCRN for critical care, CEN for emergency, or OCN for oncology signal verified expertise and are frequently tied to differential pay. Focused exam prep is available through nursing bodies and platforms like Coursera.
• Work the Chicago metro. The Chicago region pays around $100,490 at the median, roughly $20,000 above the downstate metros, for the same license.
• Advance your degree. An RN-to-BSN, then an MSN, is the structural path to nurse practitioner roles. Illinois nurse practitioners earn a median of $130,680, well above staff RNs, which is the single biggest jump available to you.
• Negotiate the whole package. Night and weekend differentials, sign-on bonuses, on-call pay, and tuition reimbursement are often negotiable and compound year over year.

Job outlook for registered nurses in Illinois

Illinois employs roughly 138,910 registered nurses, one of the larger nursing workforces in the country. That scale is anchored by the major academic medical centers and hospital systems in Chicago and its suburbs, plus a steady spread of community hospitals and nursing-care facilities across the downstate metros.

The BLS projects registered nursing to remain one of the larger sources of new healthcare jobs nationally over the coming decade, as an aging population needs more care and a wave of experienced nurses reaches retirement. Illinois, with a large population and a deep hospital sector concentrated in the Chicago region, is positioned to keep demand strong, particularly in acute and long-term care. The practical takeaway is durable demand. A nurse who specializes, earns certifications, or is willing to work the higher-paying Chicago metro has real room to negotiate pay, schedule, and sign-on terms.

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