(The Center Square) – The average wages for Illinois state employees are among the highest in the nation and belie the state’s more modest cost-of-living rankings, according to state and federal data.

A living cost analysis this year by the Economic Research and Information Center in Missouri ranked Illinois as the 24th most-expensive state. That is similar to the findings of the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, which placed Illinois 19th among states and the District of Columbia, where it is most expensive to live.