Average salary in Chicago: $73,380 a year
The mean annual wage across every job BLS counts in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, with the median, the pay spread and the jobs behind it.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 16980), which includes Chicago, Naperville and Elgin and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Chicago city limits. It spans Illinois and Indiana.
The average salary in the Chicago metro area is $73,380 a year ($35.28 an hour): that is the mean annual wage across 4,513,280 jobs in the BLS May 2025 survey. The median is $54,720 ($26.31 an hour), so half of those jobs paid less and half paid more. The mean sits above the median because a smaller number of very high wages pulls it up.
How Chicago compares with Illinois and the U.S.
The metro area's mean salary is $2,250 (3.2%) above the Illinois statewide figure of $71,130 and $3,610 (5.2%) above the U.S. figure of $69,770.
| Measure | Chicago metro | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (average) salary | $73,380 | $71,130 | $69,770 |
| Median salary | $54,720 | $51,960 | $50,980 |
| Mean hourly wage | $35.28 | $34.20 | $33.54 |
| Median hourly wage | $26.31 | $24.98 | $24.51 |
| Jobs counted | 4,513,280 | 6,098,130 | 155,495,730 |
Prices matter as much as pay. BEA's regional price parity for the Chicago metro area in 2024 is 103.6, where the United States = 100: overall prices there were about 3.6% above the national price level. A salary goes further where the index is lower.
What jobs in the Chicago area pay, from low to high
One job in ten in the metro area paid less than $34,260 a year, and one in ten paid more than $130,790. A quarter paid less than $38,480; a quarter paid more than $86,670.
| Area | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago metro | $34,260 | $38,480 | $54,720 | $86,670 | $130,790 |
| Illinois | $32,900 | $37,960 | $51,960 | $83,060 | $127,770 |
| United States | $31,200 | $37,590 | $50,980 | $80,520 | $128,560 |
Pay by job group in the Chicago area
The largest group in the Chicago area is office and administrative support, with 488,940 jobs (11% of the total, calculated). The best-paid group by median is management ($131,890); the lowest-paid is food preparation and serving related ($35,220). Where BLS does not release a figure, the table says so.
| Job group | Jobs | Median salary | Mean (average) salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Administrative Support | 488,940 | $48,840 | $53,700 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 484,580 | $45,920 | $53,680 |
| Management | 404,010 | $131,890 | $150,130 |
| Sales and Related | 390,370 | $41,840 | $59,990 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | 370,240 | $35,220 | $37,730 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 305,300 | $84,780 | $96,800 |
| Production | 286,630 | $46,940 | $51,860 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | 282,420 | $61,700 | $70,090 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | 279,160 | $91,320 | $106,210 |
| Healthcare Support | 204,740 | $39,230 | $43,250 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | 145,360 | $61,430 | $66,320 |
| Construction and Extraction | 132,250 | $84,230 | $85,000 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 131,320 | $105,170 | $114,060 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | 122,840 | $39,640 | $43,410 |
| Protective Service | 120,410 | $51,410 | $66,950 |
| Personal Care and Service | 104,260 | $36,590 | $42,480 |
| Community and Social Service | 74,990 | $58,860 | $64,720 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 55,170 | $99,560 | $103,200 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | 49,450 | $66,320 | $77,650 |
| Legal | 43,470 | $112,440 | $148,260 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | 35,310 | $84,700 | $100,370 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | 2,050 | $41,170 | $45,790 |
The occupations with the most jobs in the Chicago area
9 of the 12 largest occupations in the Chicago area with a published annual median paid a median below the all-jobs median of $54,720 (calculated from the BLS figures).
| Occupation | Jobs | Median salary |
|---|---|---|
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 157,920 | $40,550 |
| General and Operations Managers | 122,930 | $109,390 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 108,520 | $38,180 |
| Registered Nurses | 100,240 | $100,490 |
| Cashiers | 99,240 | $35,010 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 97,280 | $34,630 |
| Retail Salespersons | 96,950 | $35,820 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 79,850 | $38,450 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 75,240 | $47,100 |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 70,000 | $38,470 |
| Office Clerks, General | 66,840 | $46,330 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 62,210 | $62,300 |
Go deeper
Pay for every occupation in the area.
Open →PricesCost of living in ChicagoWhat a salary buys there.
Open →StateAverage salary in IllinoisThe statewide figures.
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How this page is built
Every pay figure is a BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2025 estimate for all occupations in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area (occupation code 00-0000), copied from BLS's data file; the job-group and occupation rows come from the same file. The average is BLS's mean wage (total wages divided by jobs); the median is the wage in the middle. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include commissions, tips, production bonuses and cost-of-living allowances, and leave out overtime premiums, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. BLS turns hourly wages into annual ones at 2,080 hours (40 hours for 52 weeks). Ranks, differences and shares are TryHired calculations from the BLS figures. Price levels are BEA Regional Price Parities.
- Household income: this page reports pay per job, not household or family income, which the Census Bureau measures differently.
- Starting pay: the figures include experienced workers. Entry-level pay is usually lower.
- Take-home pay: every figure is before taxes and deductions.
- Self-employment and farm work: not covered by OEWS (see the FAQ).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates: national, state and metropolitan-area data files (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS technical notes: what the survey counts as wages and jobs.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released Feb 19, 2026).