Salaries / Bookkeeper
Office & Admin · SOC 43-3031
Bookkeeper salary
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks record financial transactions and keep the books for businesses of every size.
Illinois · 2025
Median annual (IL)
$49,560
Median hourly (IL)
$23.83
Typical range (IL)
$32,360 to $71,480
Illinois source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS 2025.
National
Median annual
$50,670
Median hourly
$24.36
Typical range
$36,000 to $74,550
National source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025. Figures are gross pay and vary by location, employer, and experience.
The pay range, visually.
Low end (about the 10th percentile), median, and high end (about the 90th percentile).
By state, at a glance
These at-a-glance figures are estimates derived from the national median and a state wage index, shown to give a rough sense of local differences. Pick any state (here or in the selector above) to look up its real figures.
Your skills are a business
Ideas we have for people in office & admin.
The same experience that earns a paycheck as a bookkeeper can start a business. Here are real ideas from our marketplace that fit this field.
Start a Tax Preparation Business
Prepare and file tax returns for individuals and small businesses, charging per return during a busy season that can fund much of your year.
Catch-Up and Cleanup Bookkeeping Service
Rescue small businesses whose books are months or years behind: reconciling neglected accounts, fixing miscategorized transactions, and getting everything tax-ready. A project-based service for the panic moment when an owner realizes the books are a disaster.
Ecommerce and Shopify Bookkeeping Service
Keep the books clean for online sellers on Shopify, Amazon, and Etsy: reconciling payment processors, tracking inventory and cost of goods, untangling sales tax across states, and giving owners real numbers instead of a Stripe balance they hope is profit.
Real-Estate Investor Bookkeeping Service
Keep clean books for landlords and real-estate investors: tracking income and expenses per property, handling owner draws and mortgages, prepping for depreciation, and giving investors the property-level numbers their tax pro and their lender both want.
You could hire bookkeepers, not just be one.
We have a staffing calculator to price the work and a full course on how to start a staffing agency, so you can turn a field you already know into a business that puts other people to work.