Tax Preparers Salary — Chicago, Illinois

The average Tax Preparers in Chicago, Illinois earns $55,160 a year.

$55,160 / year, mean
↓ 13.8% below national average 100th percentile in Illinois

Chicago sits at the very top of the range for this role in Illinois — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's noticeably below the national average for tax preparers, worth factoring into any relocation math. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within Illinois

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
1,020
Estimate confidence
RSE 5.9%
Cost of living 104 #31 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 1770 #92 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $353,998 #78 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $88,850 #28 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Chicago ranks #31 for cost of living and #78 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Francisco $84,300 San Jose $83,550 Waco $76,430 New York $75,620 Santa Rosa $71,350 San Diego $69,700 Philadelphia $68,730 Salinas $68,190 Los Angeles $68,140 Stockton $67,450 Portland $67,300 Syracuse $67,190 Modesto $66,970 Sacramento $66,850 Amarillo $66,640 Pittsburgh $66,620 Rochester $66,390 Santa Cruz $66,290 Buffalo $65,310 Bend $65,260 Sebastian $65,170 Medford $64,840 Richmond $64,780 Albany $64,260 Kiryas Joel $64,260 Bakersfield $64,110 San Luis Obispo $63,830 Oxnard $63,350 Vallejo $63,330 Erie $62,440 Eugene $62,030 Redding $62,010 Salem $61,810 Albany $61,760 Lancaster $61,510 Naples $60,890 Harrisburg $60,600 Sarasota $59,610 Austin $59,540 Lansing $59,390 Punta Gorda $58,890 Louisville $58,460 Grand Rapids $58,340 Fresno $58,150 Houston $58,040 Fort Myers $57,980 Dallas $57,780 Binghamton $57,650 El Paso $57,650 Tampa $57,610 Lafayette $57,300 Ocala $56,950 Midland $56,800 Jacksonville $56,730 Roanoke $56,490 Baltimore $56,150 College Station $56,100 Detroit $55,770 Charleston $55,360 Chicago $55,160 Lakeland $54,630 Virginia Beach $54,340 Deltona $54,160 Fort Wayne $53,670 Tyler $53,490 Orlando $53,420 Tallahassee $53,420 Port St. Lucie $52,300 Indianapolis $51,910 Seattle $51,860 Corpus Christi $51,660 Palm Bay $51,460 Lexington $51,390 Chico $50,860 Grants Pass $50,260 Sherman $49,810 Miami $49,190 Kennewick $49,050 Dover $48,880 Scranton $48,190 Lubbock $48,000 Evansville $47,700 McAllen $47,000 Brownsville $46,690 Spokane $46,190 Bellingham $45,850 Atlantic City $45,550 Terre Haute $44,220 Killeen $42,140 Vineland $41,930 Bowling Green $40,280 Huntington $38,490
CityMean salaryvs. Chicago
Albany, Oregon$61,760+12.0%
Albany, New York$64,260+16.5%
Amarillo, Texas$66,640+20.8%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$45,550-17.4%
Austin, Texas$59,540+7.9%
Bakersfield, California$64,110+16.2%
Baltimore, Maryland$56,150+1.8%
Bellingham, Washington$45,850-16.9%
Bend, Oregon$65,260+18.3%
Binghamton, New York$57,650+4.5%
Bowling Green, Kentucky$40,280-27.0%
Brownsville, Texas$46,690-15.4%
Buffalo, New York$65,310+18.4%
Fort Myers, Florida$57,980+5.1%
Charleston, West Virginia$55,360+0.4%
Chico, California$50,860-7.8%
College Station, Texas$56,100+1.7%
Corpus Christi, Texas$51,660-6.3%
Dallas, Texas$57,780+4.7%
Deltona, Florida$54,160-1.8%
Detroit, Michigan$55,770+1.1%
Dover, Delaware$48,880-11.4%
El Paso, Texas$57,650+4.5%
Erie, Pennsylvania$62,440+13.2%
Eugene, Oregon$62,030+12.5%
Evansville, Indiana$47,700-13.5%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$53,670-2.7%
Fresno, California$58,150+5.4%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$58,340+5.8%
Grants Pass, Oregon$50,260-8.9%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$60,600+9.9%
Houston, Texas$58,040+5.2%
Huntington, West Virginia$38,490-30.2%
Indianapolis, Indiana$51,910-5.9%
Jacksonville, Florida$56,730+2.8%
Kennewick, Washington$49,050-11.1%
Killeen, Texas$42,140-23.6%
Kiryas Joel, New York$64,260+16.5%
Lafayette, Indiana$57,300+3.9%
Lakeland, Florida$54,630-1.0%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$61,510+11.5%
Lansing, Michigan$59,390+7.7%
Lexington, Kentucky$51,390-6.8%
Los Angeles, California$68,140+23.5%
Louisville, Kentucky$58,460+6.0%
Lubbock, Texas$48,000-13.0%
McAllen, Texas$47,000-14.8%
Medford, Oregon$64,840+17.5%
Miami, Florida$49,190-10.8%
Midland, Texas$56,800+3.0%
Modesto, California$66,970+21.4%
Naples, Florida$60,890+10.4%
New York, New York$75,620+37.1%
Sarasota, Florida$59,610+8.1%
Ocala, Florida$56,950+3.2%
Orlando, Florida$53,420-3.2%
Oxnard, California$63,350+14.8%
Palm Bay, Florida$51,460-6.7%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$68,730+24.6%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$66,620+20.8%
Portland, Oregon$67,300+22.0%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$52,300-5.2%
Punta Gorda, Florida$58,890+6.8%
Redding, California$62,010+12.4%
Richmond, Virginia$64,780+17.4%
Roanoke, Virginia$56,490+2.4%
Rochester, New York$66,390+20.4%
Sacramento, California$66,850+21.2%
Salem, Oregon$61,810+12.1%
Salinas, California$68,190+23.6%
San Diego, California$69,700+26.4%
San Francisco, California$84,300+52.8%
San Jose, California$83,550+51.5%
San Luis Obispo, California$63,830+15.7%
Santa Cruz, California$66,290+20.2%
Santa Rosa, California$71,350+29.4%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$48,190-12.6%
Seattle, Washington$51,860-6.0%
Sebastian, Florida$65,170+18.1%
Sherman, Texas$49,810-9.7%
Spokane, Washington$46,190-16.3%
Stockton, California$67,450+22.3%
Syracuse, New York$67,190+21.8%
Tallahassee, Florida$53,420-3.2%
Tampa, Florida$57,610+4.4%
Terre Haute, Indiana$44,220-19.8%
Tyler, Texas$53,490-3.0%
Vallejo, California$63,330+14.8%
Vineland, New Jersey$41,930-24.0%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$54,340-1.5%
Waco, Texas$76,430+38.6%

This metro area spans more than one state — where you actually pay income tax depends on where you work, not just where BLS assigns the area. Choose your work state:

Gross salary
55,160/yr
Estimated take-home
43,912/yr
Est. total withheld
20.4%

Single filer, federal + state tax (where the selected state levies one) + FICA, 2025 rates, for whichever state you select above. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional.

View cost of living in this state All Tax Preparers salaries in Illinois → All Tax Preparers salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 13-2082 SOC code
Official area Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 16980 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: il_idor_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
NapervilleElgin
Multi-state area: IL;IN
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Illinois

Population (metro area)
9,359,555