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.
Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power from BLS and BEA sources, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability.
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
What is the average salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN? ▼
Which published medians lead Chicago-Naperville-Elgin? ▼
What is the cost of living in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN wage figures in a real decision
- Radiologists leads published medians in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN at $479,910/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Radiologists
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $73,175 adjusts to about $70,636 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 103.6. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for IL before treating one geography as the other. State wage page
BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period; small occupation-area cells can be suppressed, and figures are not employer offers.
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.