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What does a Registered Nurses 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 Registered Nurses earning $95,990 in Illinois has the equivalent purchasing power of $94,758 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) | $69,170 | $68,282 | $-887 |
| 25th Percentile (P25) | $80,020 | $78,993 | $-1,026 |
| Median (P50) | $95,990 | $94,758 | $-1,231 |
| 75th Percentile (P75) | $105,960 | $104,600 | $-1,359 |
| 90th Percentile (P90) | $118,190 | $116,673 | $-1,516 |
Illinois's cost of living is close to the national average, so $95,990 keeps most of its value at $94,758 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 Registered Nurses 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, $95,990 nominal nets out to $94,758 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 Registered Nurses.
Illinois sits at #25 of 51 states for Registered Nurses COL-adjusted salary — comfortably above the national midpoint.
Where does Registered Nurses salary stretch the furthest? Top 10 states ranked by COL-adjusted median salary.
Illinois ranks #25 out of 51 states for Registered Nurses after cost-of-living adjustment.
How much do you actually take home? See Registered Nurses take-home pay in Illinois after taxes →
A Registered Nurses in Illinois earns a median salary of $95,990 per year. After adjusting for Illinois's cost of living (RPP=101.3), the real purchasing power is $94,758 — 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 Registered Nurses in Illinois: $95,990 x (100 / 101.3) = $94,758. This represents what the salary would be worth in a state with average living costs.
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