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What does a Firefighters 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 Firefighters earning $78,380 in Illinois has the equivalent purchasing power of $77,374 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) | $38,900 | $38,400 | $-499 |
| 25th Percentile (P25) | $47,910 | $47,295 | $-614 |
| Median (P50) | $78,380 | $77,374 | $-1,005 |
| 75th Percentile (P75) | $103,530 | $102,201 | $-1,328 |
| 90th Percentile (P90) | $106,060 | $104,698 | $-1,361 |
Illinois's cost of living is close to the national average, so $78,380 keeps most of its value at $77,374 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 Firefighters 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, $78,380 nominal nets out to $77,374 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 Firefighters.
Ranked on COL-adjusted median pay for Firefighters, Illinois places #3 of 50 states — top quartile. Either nominal wages run high, cost of living runs low, or both.
Where does Firefighters salary stretch the furthest? Top 10 states ranked by COL-adjusted median salary.
Illinois ranks #3 out of 50 states for Firefighters after cost-of-living adjustment.
How much do you actually take home? See Firefighters take-home pay in Illinois after taxes →
A Firefighters in Illinois earns a median salary of $78,380 per year. After adjusting for Illinois's cost of living (RPP=101.3), the real purchasing power is $77,374 — 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 Firefighters in Illinois: $78,380 x (100 / 101.3) = $77,374. This represents what the salary would be worth in a state with average living costs.
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