Start with the answer
Managers, All Other pay in Illinois and Massachusetts
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Managers, All Other is $140,240 per year in Illinois. It is $182,950 per year in Massachusetts. Illinois is 23.3% below Massachusetts on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 11-9199 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 31,680 wage and salary jobs in Illinois and 10,630 in Massachusetts. 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
