What Cooks, Restaurant earn in DeKalb County, IL
According to the latest federal wage data for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area, the median pay for Cooks, Restaurant in DeKalb County, IL is $38,930 a year, or $18.72 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $31,623 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for DeKalb County, IL.
The mean wage is $40,450, which is 3.9% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 41,690 people working in this occupation across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. DeKalb County, IL has roughly 100,703 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Cooks, Restaurant in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $32,150 a year ($15.46 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $46,620 or more ($22.41 an hour). That is a gap of $14,470 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $36,300 at the 25th percentile and $45,510 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.5 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $18.72 an hour or $38,930 a year at the median for DeKalb County, IL. Before any deductions, that is $3,244 a month, $1,497 every two weeks and $749 each week. After taxes the same job pays $15.20 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in DeKalb County, IL compares
Compared with the Illinois average
A worker in this occupation in DeKalb County, IL earns $918 more than the Illinois average of $38,012, a premium of 2.4%. Over a year that premium is worth $918 before tax and roughly $746 after tax. Within Illinois, DeKalb County, IL already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Cooks, Restaurant is $38,193 across the contiguous United States. At $38,930, DeKalb County, IL pays $737 more, which is 1.9% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in DeKalb County, IL
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in DeKalb County, IL, Cooks, Restaurant ranks number 549 by median pay, ahead of about 11% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Financial Managers at $168,810 a year, which is $129,880 more than the median for Cooks, Restaurant.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Cooks, Restaurant earning the DeKalb County, IL median of $38,930, they add up to $7,307. The result is $31,623 of take-home pay a year ($2,635 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $19 goes to taxes and $81 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 18.8%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $23,180. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,543, an effective 6.5% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,414 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $564. FICA totals $2,978, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Illinois
Illinois income tax on this salary is $1,786 a year, or 4.6% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 70% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $149 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for DeKalb County, IL
IRS Statistics of Income data for DeKalb County, IL show an average adjusted gross income of $75,621 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.1% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.1%, compared with the 6.5% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in DeKalb County, IL
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in DeKalb County, IL: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $31,623 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For DeKalb County, IL, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,155 a month ($13,860 a year), and at $1,481 for two bedrooms. For Cooks, Restaurant, a one-bedroom absorbs 43.8% of take-home pay and 35.6% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 8.8% of gross pay for Cooks, Restaurant in DeKalb County, IL. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Illinois residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,677 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $434, for $2,110 in total. Gasoline in Illinois averages $3.18 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,471.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $20,877 a year in DeKalb County, IL. Subtract that from $31,623 of take-home pay and $10,746 remains, which is $896 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 27.6% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Cooks, Restaurant afford to live in DeKalb County, IL?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $38,930 that ceiling is $973 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,155 is $182 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.21 an hour; the median for Cooks, Restaurant is $18.72, which is 16% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $15.20 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 17.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,481 a month means $741 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $4,974 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $15,720.
How fast you can save
At $896 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 12 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 24 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Cooks, Restaurant pay in DeKalb County, IL
How much do Cooks, Restaurant make per hour in DeKalb County, IL?
The median is $18.72 per hour, based on $38,930 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $15.46 at the 10th percentile to $22.41 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Cooks, Restaurant take home after taxes in DeKalb County, IL?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $38,930 becomes $31,623 a year. That is $2,635 a month, $1,216 every two weeks or $608 a week.
How much tax do Cooks, Restaurant pay in DeKalb County, IL?
Total taxes are $7,307 a year, an effective rate of 18.8%: $2,543 federal income tax, $2,978 FICA and $1,786 Illinois income tax.
Do Cooks, Restaurant earn more in DeKalb County, IL than elsewhere in Illinois?
Yes. The local median of $38,930 is +2.4% versus the Illinois average of $38,012, a difference of $918 a year.
Can Cooks, Restaurant afford a one-bedroom apartment in DeKalb County, IL?
A one-bedroom costs $1,155 a month against take-home pay of $2,635, which is 43.8% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $973 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Cooks, Restaurant in DeKalb County, IL?
About $896 a month ($10,746 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $20,877 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in DeKalb County, IL at the 30% guideline?
$22.21 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $13,860 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Cooks, Restaurant is $18.72.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Illinois rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.