Start with the answer
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors pay in Illinois and Vermont
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors is $75,050 per year in Illinois. It is $51,960 per year in Vermont. Illinois is 44.4% above Vermont on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 53-7081 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 4,910 wage and salary jobs in Illinois and 160 in Vermont. 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