Dentists, General Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $156K, rent takes 15.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,407/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new dentists, generals typically earn — is $124K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $7,435/month. At HUD’s $1,407/month FMR, rent would take 19% of that take-home — manageable on an entry-level income.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $156K locally vs. $171K nationally, a 9% difference.

Illinois pays $156K median vs. the U.S. average of $171K — that’s -9%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 93.85), the purchasing-power equivalent is $166K — below the national median.

The median is $156,110 a year, that works out to about $75 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $123,920, and experienced dentists, generals can clear $291,530. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $9,144/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,407/month, which eats 15.4% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Illinois has a Regional Price Parity of 93.85 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median dentists, general salary is worth about $166,340 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.