Nurse pay in Illinois
Nurses in Illinois are being offered a median $91,520 a year right now across 222 live job postings that state pay — ranking #40 of 51 states. Updated July 22, 2026.
Where does your pay sit in Illinois?
Checked against 222 live postings that state pay. Your number stays in your browser.
Enter your pay to see your percentile.
Posted offers on live listings — not take-home pay or a promise of what any one nurse will earn.
Illinois market overview
- 25th percentile
- $81,744
- Median
- $91,520
- 75th percentile
- $106,860
- 90th percentile
- $129,953
- Median hourly (76 postings)
- $40/hr
- Sign-on bonus, median (25 postings)
- $20,000
- Sign-on bonus, highest posted
- $100,000
- Live postings stating pay
- 222
Annual figures are posted offers (midpoint of stated ranges) on live listings, updated July 22, 2026.
What each specialty is offered in Illinois
| Specialty | Median | 90th percentile | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICU | $98k | $127k | 35 |
| General | $83k | $137k | 22 |
| Hospitals and Health Care | $90k | $99k | 11 |
| Nurse Practitioner | $141k | $265k | 11 |
| Home Health | $99k | $131k | 10 |
| Emergency | $125k | $136k | 8 |
| Rehabilitation | $86k | $109k | 8 |
| Acute Care | $98k | $116k | 7 |
| Hospice | $96k | $120k | 7 |
| Cardiac | $111k | $140k | 6 |
| Geriatric | $83k | $102k | 6 |
| Operating Room | $99k | $120k | 6 |
| Pediatric | $84k | $90k | 6 |
| Wound Care | $96k | $130k | 6 |
| Dialysis | $52k | $95k | 5 |
| ER | $97k | $98k | 5 |
| Labor & Delivery | $92k | $124k | 5 |
| PACU | $83k | $95k | 5 |
| Palliative Care | $97k | $108k | 5 |
| Surgical | $87k | $117k | 5 |
Highest-offering employers in Illinois right now
- #1$265k
Loyola University Health System
median across 3 priced postings
- #2$135k
Fidelity on Call, LTD
median across 11 priced postings
- #3$130k
TNAA Healthcare
median across 7 priced postings
- #4$128k
Olivera Health Group
median across 3 priced postings
- #5$124k
Staffing First Travel
median across 3 priced postings
What nurses say they’re paidreported by nurses
No community reports for Illinois yet — posted offers only tell half the story. Be one of the first five and this section unlocks for every nurse in the state.
What are you actually being paid?
30 seconds, fully anonymous — no name, no email. Your report joins the community-reported series (always labeled nurse-reported) so nurses can compare real experiences with what employers post.
What to do with this
- See the rolesJobs in Illinois paying around $91,520Every posting behind these numbers is a live job you can open and apply to.
- Offer in hand?Run it through the offer reality calculatorAnnualize it honestly and see what it's worth where you'd actually live — then compare offers side by side.
- 3-minute fit quizFind out which roles actually fit youPay is one axis. Shift, specialty, setting, and commute decide whether the job is worth it.
- CommunityAsk nurses what they really take homeDifferentials, ratios, and the offer nobody posts. Bring your number and compare notes.
Want the craft behind the numbers — differentials, negotiating, travel packages? Read the pay & salary guides.
Questions nurses ask
- How much do nurses make in Illinois?
- Across 222 live job postings in Illinois that state pay, the median posted offer is $91,520 a year (about $40/hr). The middle half of postings runs $81,744–$106,860, and the top 10% start at $129,953.
- How does Illinois nurse pay compare nationally?
- Illinois's posted median of $91,520 is 8% below the national median ($99,320), ranking #40 of 51 states on the Pay Index right now.
- Where does this data come from?
- Pay stated on live nursing job postings collected continuously by Nursing Mastery, last updated July 22, 2026. These are posted offers, not survey estimates or a promise of what any one nurse will earn. Implausible figures are excluded and small samples are suppressed.
- Do Illinois nursing jobs offer sign-on bonuses?
- 25 live postings in Illinois advertise a sign-on bonus right now, with a median of $20,000 and offers up to $100,000.