Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN moved from $51,510 in May 2024 to $54,720 in May 2025 (+6.2%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN sits +3.1 pp ahead of that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators publishes $103,100 here versus $59,850 nationally (+72.3%; 7,930metro-area jobs). Next is Physicians, All Other at $94,820 locally versus $265,930 nationally (-64.3%).
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$103,100 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN sits 72.3% above the national Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators median of $59,850 (7,930 published local jobs).
- Physicians, All Other$94,820 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN sits 64.3% below the national Physicians, All Other median of $265,930 (16,950 published local jobs).
- Structural Iron and Steel Workers$102,350 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN sits 63.0% above the national Structural Iron and Steel Workers median of $62,780 (2,120 published local jobs).
- Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$103,380 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN sits 62.0% above the national Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters median of $63,800 (12,750 published local jobs).
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 16980 · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN $73K mean
MEAN-MEGA · RPP-MID · OCC-FULL · TOP-LEAD · EMP-HEAVY · TREND-AHEAD · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-MEGA #26/528
- RPP-MID 103.6
- OCC-FULL 715 occs
- TOP-LEAD Radiologists · $480K
- EMP-HEAVY Financial Ma…
- TREND-AHEAD +3.1 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Ithaca, NY
- BOOK-FULL 677 rows · May 2025
Read with Ithaca, NY ($92 on published-row mean) · Highest-paying careers
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer — not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Employment scale inside Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's top-pay list
Financial Managers and Lawyers lead published employment inside Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's top-pay sample — order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Financial Managers 41,590 jobs · $168,810
- 2. Lawyers 28,320 jobs · $165,660
- 3. Computer and Information Systems Managers 24,950 jobs · $173,760
- 4. Marketing Managers 17,400 jobs · $165,340
- 5. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers 6,360 jobs · $293,490
- 6. Chief Executives 3,610 jobs · $344,960
- 7. Natural Sciences Managers 2,270 jobs · $167,040
- 8. Family Medicine Physicians 1,430 jobs · $225,080
- 9. Obstetricians and Gynecologists 1,120 jobs · $208,000
- 10. Pediatricians, General 860 jobs · $188,340
- 11. Air Traffic Controllers 850 jobs · $189,780
- 12. Nurse Anesthetists 840 jobs · $265,880
- 13. General Internal Medicine Physicians 680 jobs · $226,060
- 14. Psychiatrists 600 jobs · $258,750
- 15. Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric 510 jobs · $284,630
- 16. Surgeons, All Other 340 jobs · $462,620
- 17. Advertising and Promotions Managers 160 jobs · $166,390
- 18. Cardiologists 150 jobs · $475,590
Occupations Tracked
715
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$73,175
employment-weighted, 677 complete rows
Top Salary
$479,910
Radiologists
Cost of Living
103.6
4% above US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiologists | $479,910 |
| 2 | Cardiologists | $475,590 |
| 3 | Surgeons, All Other | $462,620 |
| 4 | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $446,510 |
| 5 | Dermatologists | $435,750 |
| 6 | Chief Executives | $344,960 |
| 7 | Physicians, Pathologists | $336,660 |
| 8 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $293,490 |
| 9 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $284,630 |
| 10 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $269,160 |
| 11 | Nurse Anesthetists | $265,880 |
| 12 | Psychiatrists | $258,750 |
| 13 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $226,060 |
| 14 | Family Medicine Physicians | $225,080 |
| 15 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $208,000 |
| 16 | Air Traffic Controllers | $189,780 |
| 17 | Pediatricians, General | $188,340 |
| 18 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $173,760 |
| 19 | Financial Managers | $168,810 |
| 20 | Podiatrists | $167,140 |
| 21 | Natural Sciences Managers | $167,040 |
| 22 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | $166,390 |
| 23 | Lawyers | $165,660 |
| 24 | Medical Dosimetrists | $165,620 |
| 25 | Marketing Managers | $165,340 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Telemarketers | $31,200 |
| Gambling Dealers | $31,200 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $31,200 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $31,200 |
| Bartenders | $31,200 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $31,720 |
| Gambling Service Workers, All Other | $32,990 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $33,750 |
| Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers | $33,830 |
| School Bus Monitors | $33,890 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in IL
Other metropolitan or nonmetropolitan OEWS areas assigned to the same state. Cross-state pay and employment peers live in Nationwide similar metros below.
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside IL. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($73,175 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Similar employment scale
Nearest headcount peers (floor 100,000 summed published jobs), distinct from the mean-wage column.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Related federal data
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.