Insights / Therapy pay versus the U.S. median / Illinois
Therapy pay in Illinois
Illinois therapy hiring starts from headcount, because an Illinois wage won't show who is there.
Illinois employs 9,800 physical therapists, and that Illinois headcount is the bench clinics hire from.
Illinois physical therapists earn about $105.3K, 2% above the national median of about $102.8K.
Illinois speech pathologists close at about $95.1K, 3% under the national median of about $97.9K.
Each occupation
1Physical Therapists
- State median
- $105,250
- 75th percentile
- $122,920
- U.S. median
- $102,760
- State vs U.S.
- 1.02
- State employment
- 9,800
2Occupational Therapists
- State median
- $99,700
- 75th percentile
- $109,780
- U.S. median
- $100,330
- State vs U.S.
- 0.99
- State employment
- 7,710
3Speech-Language Pathologists
- State median
- $95,080
- 75th percentile
- $108,330
- U.S. median
- $97,870
- State vs U.S.
- 0.97
- State employment
- 9,040
Ranked table
Swipe the table sideways. The same figures are in the blocks above.
| Rank | Occupation | State median | 75th percentile | U.S. median | State vs U.S. | State employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physical Therapists | $105,250 | $122,920 | $102,760 | 1.02 | 9,800 |
| 2 | Occupational Therapists | $99,700 | $109,780 | $100,330 | 0.99 | 7,710 |
| 3 | Speech-Language Pathologists | $95,080 | $108,330 | $97,870 | 0.97 | 9,040 |
Takeaways
- Illinois physical therapist upper quartile is about $122.9K, and Illinois finalists will ask for it.
- Illinois occupational therapists earn about $99.7K, 1% under the national median, nearly flat in Illinois.
- Illinois employs 7,710 occupational therapists, a second Illinois bench beside physical therapists.
- Illinois speech employment is 9,040, close to the physical therapist count Illinois already has.
For recruiters
- Open Illinois therapy with the physical therapist headcount before Illinois starts talking wages.
- Keep Illinois speech pathologists in the note, since that Illinois wage sits under the country.
- File the Illinois wage in the Hiring Pack.
FAQ
- Are these posted wages or open jobs?
- No. The table is a government survey or a designation file.
- What should a recruiter do first?
- Follow the recruiter note on this page.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Related hiring pages
Methodology
Occupations are the fixed set named in the series, kept only when both the Illinois median and the U.S. median are published. A 75th percentile or an employment count that is unpublished stays blank in the table. The article is omitted when fewer than 3 occupations qualify. OEWS May 2025. A comparison of 1.00 matches the U.S. median. Sorted by the Physical Therapists state median when that occupation qualifies, otherwise by the highest median in the table. Illinois is 9 of 51. A row links to the Illinois metro page with the highest public market difficulty score for that occupation when one is published, and otherwise to the occupation page on the hiring grid. An unpublished percentile or employment count is shown as unpublished rather than replaced with a zero. The wages are annual OEWS figures. They are not job listings and they are not an employer's current offer. Read the comparison beside the dollar figures: a high state wage can still sit under the national median for that occupation, and a lower state wage can still sit above it. Rounded figures in the prose: $105,250 is stated as about $105.3K. $102,760 is stated as about $102.8K. a comparison of 1.02 is stated as 2 percent. $122,920 is stated as about $122.9K. $95,080 is stated as about $95.1K. a comparison of 0.97 is stated as 3 percent. $97,870 is stated as about $97.9K. Rounded figures in the prose: $99,700 is stated as about $99.7K.
Sources
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