Is $75,000 a Good Salary in Chicago, IL? (2026)

Generally no: $75,000 in Chicago is below typical pay - about the 33rd percentile across 19 occupations, $4,823 a month take-home.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS), Census ACS rents, IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 · Updated October 2026

Verdict
below typical
Local pay percentile
~33rd
Monthly take-home
$4,823
Median rent share
29%

Generally no, $75,000 is below typical pay in Chicago, IL. Across the 19 common occupations we track in Chicago, it sits at about the 33rd percentile of local pay.

After federal tax, FICA and Illinois state tax of $3,713 a year, a single filer earning $75,000 keeps about $57,880 a year, or $4,823 a month. Median rent in Chicago is $1,380 a month, which takes 29% of that take-home pay.

“Typical” means the middle of local pay, not a national average. We compute where $75,000 lands in each tracked occupation’s published BLS wage range (10th to 90th percentiles) and take the median position across the 19 occupations - the same interpolation our salary percentile calculator uses. Median pay across those occupations is about $85,200 in Chicago (middle half between $67,900 and $102,500).

How this verdict is computed

"Typical" means the middle of local pay, not a national average. We compute where $75,000 lands in each tracked occupation's published BLS wage range (10th to 90th percentiles) and take the median position across the 19 occupations - the same interpolation our salary percentile calculator uses. Median pay across those occupations is about $85,200 in Chicago (middle half between $67,900 and $102,500).

Take-home assumes a single filer with the standard deduction and no pretax deductions: federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, and Illinois state income tax. Rent is the metro's median gross rent (Census ACS); the rent share compares it to monthly take-home pay.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Generally no, it is below typical pay: $75,000 sits at about the 33rd percentile across the 19 occupations we track in Chicago, where median pay across occupations is about $85,200.

A single filer with the standard deduction keeps about $57,880 a year ($4,823 a month) after federal tax, FICA and Illinois state tax of $3,713 a year.

Median pay across the 19 occupations we track is about $85,200 a year, with the middle half of occupation medians between $67,900 and $102,500.