BLS metro-level wage data places Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN at a median of $59,020 per year ($28.38/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $50,270, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin pays +17% above, signaling either concentrated employer demand, a cost-of-living premium, or both. Approximately 4,320 paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenderss are employed across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin MSA in SOC 51-9196.

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin pay distribution spans from $39,800 at the 10th percentile to $63,330 at the 90th — a 1.6× spread that reflects experience tenure, specialization, employer size, and the difference between public-sector, nonprofit, and private-sector compensation inside the metro. The 25th percentile sits at $47,380 and the 75th at $59,950, so half of Chicago-Naperville-Elgin-based paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenderss earn within that middle band.

Metro figures capture where you actually work, not just where you live — which matters for commuters. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. Remember that OEWS wages reflect base pay only: employer-provided health insurance, retirement matches, stock options, signing bonuses, overtime, and tips are excluded and can add 20-40% to real total compensation. Before using this metro median as a negotiation anchor, triangulate against the same occupation's national profile (linked below), its state-wide IL data, and peer-metro comparisons — a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.