File Clerks Salary
File Clerks in Illinois make a median of $49,920 a year, or about $24 an hour. The range runs from $32K at the entry level to $73K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 93.85), which stretches that salary to about $53,191 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,407/month, about 41.3% of take-home, which is tight.
Statewide average. Salary and cost of living vary significantly across Illinois. Jump to a metro for precise data:
So what does $50K get you in Illinois?
About file clerks
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What this looks like in Illinois
Illinois sits well above the national pay line for file clerks, local pay runs about 14% higher than the U.S. median of $44K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,407/month, which is 42.5% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Regional Price Parity sits at 93.85 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 6% cheaper here. Your dollar stretches further than the headline salary suggests. The pay premium is real, but so are the offsets.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Illinois
Entry-level file clerks (10th percentile) start around $32K. Mid-career wages sit at $50K. Top earners bring in $73K or more, a $41K spread from bottom to top.
File Clerks salary by metro in Illinois
6 metro areas with BLS data, ranked by median pay
| Metro area | Median salary | vs. state | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | $58K | +17% | 2,640 |
| Rockford | $50K | -0% | 100 |
| Champaign-Urbana | $44K | -12% | 60 |
| Peoria | $41K | -18% | 170 |
| Springfield | $41K | -18% | 100 |
| Bloomington | $36K | -28% | 50 |
Compare to other states
Track file clerks salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Illinois numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a file clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in Illinois?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $50K, rent takes 42.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,407/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for file clerks in Illinois?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new file clerks typically earn — is $32K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,927/month. At HUD’s $1,407/month FMR, rent would take 73% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is file clerk a high-paying job in Illinois?
Local pay is 14% above the national median — $50K here vs. $44K nationally.
How does Illinois compare to the national average for file clerks?
Illinois pays $50K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s +14%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 93.85), the purchasing-power equivalent is $53K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do file clerks make in Illinois?
The median is $49,920 a year, that works out to about $24 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $32,120, and experienced file clerks can clear $73,040. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $50K enough to live in Illinois?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,307/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,407/month, which eats 42.5% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a file clerks salary go in Illinois?
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 file clerks salary is worth about $53,191 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do file clerks get paid the most?
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.