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Nursing Mastery

Nurse pay in Illinois

$90,480median posted offer · $35/hr 5% below the national median

Nurses in Illinois are being offered a median $90,480 a year right now across 1,273 live job postings that state pay — ranking #33 of 51 states. Updated September 10, 2026.

$90k median$68k · p10$77k$100k$121k · p90

Where does your pay sit in Illinois?

Checked against 1,273 live postings that state pay. Your number stays in your browser.

$90k median$68k · p10$77k$100k$121k · p90

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
$77,064
Median
$90,480
75th percentile
$99,809
90th percentile
$121,028
Median hourly (937 postings)
$35/hr
Sign-on bonus, median (172 postings)
$10,000
Sign-on bonus, highest posted
$100,000
Live postings stating pay
1,273

Annual figures are posted offers (midpoint of stated ranges) on live listings, updated September 10, 2026.

What each specialty is offered in Illinois

SpecialtyMedian90th percentilePostings
Healthcare Occupations$92k$122k309
Nursing Occupations$92k$123k295
Patient Care Nursing Occupations$92k$119k269
Registered Nurses$92k$123k232
Hospitals and Health Care$88k$99k108
ICU$99k$128k75
Administrative & Consulting Nurses$97k$138k26
Pediatric$83k$96k26
Acute Care$104k$117k24
Home Health$89k$117k23
Nurse Managers & Supervisors$91k$109k23
General$83k$137k22
Medical-Surgical$95k$124k20
Geriatric$78k$92k19
Healthcare Management Occupations$112k$137k17
ER$93k$130k15
Rehabilitation$83k$113k15
Travel$111k$125k15
Licensed Practical Nurses$80k$88k14
Telemetry$104k$124k14
Executive Nurses & Nurse Administrators$114k$139k13
Directors of Nursing$113k$135k12
Hospice$94k$113k12
Long-term Care$88k$100k12
Medical/Surgical$107k$114k12
Nursing Management/Admin$113k$128k12
Operating Room$99k$112k12
Allied Health Occupations$83k$94k11
Nurse Practitioner$141k$265k11
Wound Care$88k$114k11
Dialysis$89k$99k10
Perioperative Care$91k$95k10
Cardiac$107k$130k9
Critical & Intensive Care$96k$101k9
Education/Staff Development$111k$135k9
Emergency$125k$136k9
PACU$87k$95k9
Clinical Documentation & Utilization Review Nurses$92k$109k8
Psychiatric$92k$104k8
Infectious Disease$107k$141k7
Long-term care$99k$116k7
Mental Health$79k$102k7
Nephrology$93k$105k7
Nursing Assistants & Aides$43k$47k7
Skilled Nursing Facility$87k$92k7
Wellness and Fitness Services and Hospitals and Health Care$99k$99k7
Behavioral Health$96k$106k6
Cardiology$105k$109k6
Certified Nursing Assistants$44k$47k6
Emergency Medicine$82k$87k6
Patient Case Managers & Advocates$81k$96k6
Private Duty Nursing$97k$107k6
Skilled Nursing$88k$100k6
Labor & Delivery$92k$124k5
Memory Care$79k$98k5
Palliative Care$90k$108k5
Surgical$87k$117k5

Highest-offering employers in Illinois right now

  1. #1$213k

    Aspire Home Health Care

    median across 5 priced postings

  2. #2$182k

    Absolute Home Wellness, Inc

    median across 3 priced postings

  3. #3$180k

    Precision Scans INC

    median across 15 priced postings

  4. #4$155k

    Loyola University Health System

    median across 4 priced postings

  5. #5$148k

    Amergis Healthcare Staffing

    median across 3 priced postings

What nurses say they’re paidreported by nurses

No nurse reports from Illinois yet. Five reports unlock the state summary.

What are you being paid?

30 seconds. 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

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 1,273 live job postings in Illinois that state pay, the median posted offer is $90,480 a year (about $35/hr). The middle half of postings runs $77,064–$99,809, and the top 10% start at $121,028.
How does Illinois nurse pay compare nationally?
Illinois's posted median of $90,480 is 5% below the national median ($95,680), ranking #33 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 September 10, 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?
172 live postings in Illinois advertise a sign-on bonus right now, with a median of $10,000 and offers up to $100,000.

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