Start with the answer
Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators pay in Illinois and Tennessee
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators is $162,410 per year in Illinois. It is $62,140 per year in Tennessee. Illinois is 161.4% above Tennessee on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 23-1022 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 80 wage and salary jobs in Illinois and 50 in Tennessee. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings