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What does a Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators salary really buy you in Illinois?
Illinois is near the US average cost of livingData: BLS OEWS 2025 + BEA Regional Price Parities 2022 • Updated 2026-05-19
Illinois's Regional Price Parity (RPP) is 101.3, meaning prices are 1.3% higher the national average. A Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators earning $53,850 in Illinois has the equivalent purchasing power of $53,158 in an average-cost US state.
Every dollar goes further in low-cost states. Here is how each salary percentile compares after adjusting for Illinois's cost of living.
| Percentile | Nominal Salary | COL-Adjusted | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (P10) | $32,720 | $32,300 | $-419 |
| 25th Percentile (P25) | $43,770 | $43,208 | $-561 |
| Median (P50) | $53,850 | $53,158 | $-691 |
| 75th Percentile (P75) | $76,900 | $75,913 | $-986 |
| 90th Percentile (P90) | $99,630 | $98,351 | $-1,278 |
Illinois's cost of living is close to the national average, so $53,850 keeps most of its value at $53,158 in real terms. Location choice here is more about career opportunities than cost arbitrage.
With an RPP of 101.3, Illinois is within a few percent of the national cost-of-living baseline. Salary adjustment for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators is therefore minor — what you earn is close to what you'd keep in real purchasing power.
After adjusting for Illinois's cost of living, $53,850 nominal nets out to $53,159 in real purchasing power — a small 1.3% loss. The state's cost profile is close enough to average that COL alone shouldn't drive location decisions for this Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
Illinois's rank of #17 of 30 states means real purchasing power for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators trails the national half-way line.
Where does Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators salary stretch the furthest? Top 10 states ranked by COL-adjusted median salary.
Illinois ranks #17 out of 30 states for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators after cost-of-living adjustment.
How much do you actually take home? See Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators take-home pay in Illinois after taxes →
A Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators in Illinois earns a median salary of $53,850 per year. After adjusting for Illinois's cost of living (RPP=101.3), the real purchasing power is $53,158 — a -1.3% difference.
Illinois's cost of living is 1.3% higher than the national average according to the BEA Regional Price Parities (2022). The RPP index for Illinois is 101.3 (US average = 100).
Regional Price Parities (RPPs) are price indexes published by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) that measure differences in price levels across states. They are expressed as a percentage of the national average (US = 100). Higher RPP means higher cost of living.
The adjusted salary is calculated as: Nominal Salary x (100 / RPP). For a Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators in Illinois: $53,850 x (100 / 101.3) = $53,158. This represents what the salary would be worth in a state with average living costs.
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