Start with the answer
Psychiatric Aides pay in Illinois and Minnesota
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Psychiatric Aides is $48,670 per year in Illinois. It is $55,040 per year in Minnesota. Illinois is 11.6% below Minnesota on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 31-1133 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 120 wage and salary jobs in Illinois and 620 in Minnesota. 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
