Illinois RN Salary 2026
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What RNs actually earn in Illinois
The mean registered nurse salary in Illinois is $94,360 a year, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That puts Illinois 7% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and 23rd of 51 states and DC.
That mean covers every RN in the state — new graduates and thirty-year charge nurses, day shift and nights, bedside and management. In practice new-graduate wages in Illinois land around $70,770, and experienced specialty or supervisory nurses reach roughly $132,104. If you are comparing a specific offer, the ladder below is more useful than the all-RN average.
Illinois pay across the nursing ladder
Six roles, all Illinois figures, each against its national anchor:
| Role | Mean annual | vs national | State rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurse (all RNs) | $94,360 | 7% below national | 23rd |
| ICU / critical care RN | $105,726 | 24% above national | 32nd |
| Emergency department RN | $84,050 | — | 24th |
| Travel nurse (posted base) | $97,999 | 3% below national | 24th |
| Nurse practitioner | $119,026 | 13% below national | 43rd |
| CRNA | $240,879 | 3% below national | 25th |
RN, NP and CRNA figures are BLS May 2025 OEWS unless the state note says otherwise. ICU, ER and travel figures are 2026 aggregator data (ZipRecruiter, Vivian, TheCRNA) — those specialties have no separate federal SOC code, so no BLS series exists for them.
What that salary is actually worth
Illinois's regional price parity is 98.8 against a national average of 100, so goods and services here cost 1.2% less than the national norm. Run the $94,360 mean through that and it carries the purchasing power of $95,506 anywhere else in the country.
Adjusted for what things actually cost, Illinois drops 10 places — from 23rd on paper to 33rd on purchasing power. This is the gap that catches nurses out when they relocate for a bigger number and find it does not go as far.
What is driving Illinois pay right now
Mandated public monthly staffing-ratio disclosure; strong INA union presence in Chicago.
Staffing-ratio law: Illinois has no statutory nurse-to-patient ratios, so how many patients you carry is set by hospital policy and unit budget rather than by law. That makes the ratio a question to settle in the interview, not after you start — ask what the unit actually runs on nights and weekends, not what the policy says.
Who you are competing with
Because Illinois is not a Nurse Licensure Compact state, every nurse working here needs a Illinois licence specifically. That slows down out-of-state hiring and travel placements, and in a shortage it tends to push rates up faster than in compact states, because the supply of nurses who can legally take the shift is smaller. Full detail on requirements and timelines is in the Illinois licensure guide.
Where the jobs are in Illinois
The largest RN employment markets in Illinois are Chicago. Metro wages generally run 5-15% above the state mean, and rural postings 5-10% below — though rural and critical-access hospitals often close part of that gap with sign-on bonuses and loan repayment, because they compete for a much smaller pool of applicants. ANCC Magnet-designated hospitals typically pay 8-12% more than non-Magnet facilities for the same role.
Tax and take-home in Illinois
Illinois state income tax: flat 4.95%. State income tax comes out before anything else, so compare cross-state offers on take-home rather than gross. Federal brackets and FICA (6.2% Social Security plus 1.45% Medicare) apply the same everywhere. The pay calculator models federal and Illinois state tax together, and the cost-of-living calculator compares two states on take-home rather than headline pay.
Differentials and premium pay
Base rate is rarely the whole story. Most Illinois hospitals pay a night differential of roughly $2-7/hr, weekends $1-3/hr, holidays at $1-3/hr or time-and-a-half, and charge-nurse pay of $2-5/hr on top. A nurse working a permanent night rotation with every third weekend can add several thousand a year over the base figures above. The shift differential calculator works out what a given rotation is actually worth.
Common questions
What is the average RN salary in Illinois?
The mean registered nurse salary in Illinois is $94,360 per year, per the BLS May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That is 7% below the national RN mean of $101,420, and ranks 23rd of 51 states and DC.
Is $94,360 a good RN salary in Illinois?
Adjusted for Illinois's cost of living (BEA regional price parity 98.8, where 100 is the national average), $94,360 has the purchasing power of about $95,506 nationally — 33rd among the 51 states and DC. Compare offers on the adjusted figure, not the headline one.
Which Illinois nursing roles pay the most?
CRNAs lead at $240,879, followed by nurse practitioners at $119,026. Within bedside nursing, ICU and critical care ($105,726) typically pays above the all-RN mean.
Related Illinois guides
See nursing licensure in Illinois for Board of Nursing requirements and compact status, and travel nursing in Illinois for contract rates and stipend detail. National context: pay and data, highest-paying RN specialties.