Highest Paying Jobs in Illinois

Top 100 occupations ranked by median annual salary, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025

Highest Salary

$517,850

Cardiologists

Top 25 Average

$265,726

median salary

$100K+ Jobs

100

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in Illinois by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Cardiologists pays a state median of $517,850, +4% above the national median of $496,010 for the same role. Of the 100 tracked positions, 100 pay above $100,000 per year in Illinois - a useful threshold for separating specialist professional roles from mid-tier employment. The top-10 average sits at $373,993, giving a sense of what elite specialists inside this state actually clear.

The "Difference" column compares each state median to the corresponding national median for the same SOC code, making pay premiums and discounts immediately visible. In this list, 60 of 100 occupations pay above the national median in Illinois, which usually signals one of three things: a local concentration of specialized employers (finance hubs, tech clusters, research universities, federal agencies), a cost-of-living adjustment baked into state-wide wage scales, or scarce in-state talent supply bidding up competitive roles. Occupations paying below the national median are not necessarily bad news, they often reflect lower cost of living in the state or industries where Illinois is not a concentrated employer.

Rankings like this show ceiling-potential by specialty, but they don't tell you the odds of landing one of those roles. Pair this table with the employment column (how many workers the state actually employs in each occupation) and the growth projections on each occupation's national page to see whether the field is expanding or contracting. BLS wages exclude benefits, bonuses, and overtime, especially distorting for top-paying roles where equity and performance compensation can represent 30-50% of total pay. Use this leaderboard to shortlist careers worth exploring in Illinois, then drill into each row's linked profile to check percentile spread, typical education, metro-level variation, and whether projected openings match your timeline.

#	Occupation	State Median	National	Difference	Employment
1	Cardiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$517,850	$496,010	+4% above	340
2	Surgeons, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$438,010	$414,010	+6% above	620
3	Dermatologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$435,750	$328,730	+33% above	N/A
4	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$426,580	$358,550	+19% above	170
5	Physicians, Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$381,770	$312,400	+22% above	N/A
6	Orthodontists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$343,100	$289,140	+19% above	N/A
7	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$331,920	$213,990	+55% above	4,620
8	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$293,490	$232,140	+26% above	6,460
9	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$286,830	$236,590	+21% above	1,140
10	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$284,630	$300,080	5% below	620
11	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$258,740	$281,870	8% below	870
12	Dentists, All Other Specialists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$250,880	$224,990	+12% above	230
13	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$245,120	$244,180	same as	1,960
14	Neurologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$237,080	$248,560	5% below	240
15	Obstetricians and Gynecologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$208,000	$292,910	29% below	1,290
16	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$196,760	$210,040	6% below	1,180
17	Air Traffic Controllers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$181,560	$148,080	+23% above	990
18	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$171,730	$175,140	2% below	31,680
19	Podiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$167,400	$160,300	+4% above	N/A
20	Advertising and Promotions Managers Management Occupations	$167,330	$133,660	+25% above	160
21	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$165,880	$166,570	same as	52,720
22	Medical Dosimetrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$163,860	$147,470	+11% above	140
23	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$163,610	$171,270	4% below	8,900
24	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$162,860	$166,790	2% below	21,140
25	Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators Legal Occupations	$162,410	$75,530	+115% above	80
26	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$160,800	$159,670	+1% above	33,590
27	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$159,670	$167,220	5% below	2,810
28	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$156,110	$170,950	9% below	6,940
29	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$155,280	$148,270	+5% above	32,240
30	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$153,370	$148,080	+4% above	4,160
31	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$151,730	$149,230	+2% above	780
32	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$151,370	$149,280	+1% above	13,520
33	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$145,620	$136,570	+7% above	1,540
34	Database Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$142,500	$139,500	+2% above	1,590
35	Sociologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$140,770	$106,030	+33% above	N/A
36	General Internal Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$140,680	$256,560	45% below	1,130
37	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$140,240	$141,900	1% below	31,680
38	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$139,080	$140,910	1% below	12,070
39	Physicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$137,140	$172,250	20% below	1,590
40	Computer and Information Research Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$136,540	$140,300	3% below	630
41	Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$135,430	$109,270	+24% above	1,040
42	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Protective Service Occupations	$135,080	$106,040	+27% above	4,900
43	Nuclear Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$134,510	$133,970	same as	1,040
44	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$133,690	$109,910	+22% above	1,080
45	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$133,580	$130,100	+3% above	2,330
46	Computer Hardware Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$133,220	$161,740	18% below	1,420
47	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$132,790	$134,050	1% below	7,810
48	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$132,540	$265,930	50% below	20,790
49	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$132,110	$135,980	3% below	56,310
50	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$131,990	$146,910	10% below	2,770
51	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$131,950	$135,880	3% below	3,790
52	Mathematicians Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$130,970	$126,710	+3% above	60
53	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$130,680	$132,300	1% below	9,270
54	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$130,610	$133,000	2% below	1,830
55	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$129,390	$130,220	1% below	960
56	Industrial Production Managers Management Occupations	$127,270	$126,060	+1% above	11,570
57	Materials Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$126,620	$112,860	+12% above	290
58	Commercial Pilots Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$126,100	$123,220	+2% above	1,170
59	Materials Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$125,850	$117,790	+7% above	380
60	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$124,850	$123,920	+1% above	460
61	Forensic Science Technicians Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$124,790	$72,060	+73% above	370
62	Radiation Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$124,600	$105,310	+18% above	N/A
63	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$124,180	$129,180	4% below	5,260
64	Nuclear Power Reactor Operators Production Occupations	$123,980	$122,890	+1% above	410
65	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers Protective Service Occupations	$123,500	$93,530	+32% above	3,240
66	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$121,560	$125,040	3% below	520
67	Nurse Midwives Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$120,840	$134,040	10% below	280
68	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$120,250	$107,230	+12% above	11,030
69	Personal Financial Advisors Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$120,130	$105,070	+14% above	9,760
70	Statisticians Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$119,760	$105,650	+13% above	480
71	Hoist and Winch Operators Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$118,210	$56,450	+109% above	320
72	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$117,850	$123,860	5% below	22,460
73	Therapists, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$116,200	$77,930	+49% above	1,060
74	Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators Production Occupations	$115,780	$78,620	+47% above	1,680
75	Actuaries Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$115,430	$130,000	11% below	2,280
76	Ship Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$115,310	$109,530	+5% above	110
77	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Management Occupations	$113,360	$105,870	+7% above	14,850
78	Tapers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$113,180	$68,270	+66% above	320
79	Atmospheric and Space Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$112,280	$99,070	+13% above	110
80	Engineers, All Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$111,930	$122,930	9% below	2,520
81	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$111,370	$115,160	3% below	230
82	Nuclear Technicians Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$110,390	$110,240	same as	780
83	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$109,160	$114,990	5% below	19,160
84	Physical Scientists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$108,970	$122,570	11% below	580
85	Aerospace Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$108,940	$134,960	19% below	200
86	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$108,120	$95,320	+13% above	3,090
87	Environmental Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$107,990	$107,110	+1% above	940
88	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$107,860	$120,630	11% below	5,460
89	Law Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$107,700	$128,500	16% below	470
90	Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$107,690	$106,220	+1% above	N/A
91	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales and Related Occupations	$107,570	$104,920	+3% above	7,350
92	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$107,470	$103,020	+4% above	420
93	Terrazzo Workers and Finishers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$107,190	$76,170	+41% above	N/A
94	Facilities Managers Management Occupations	$106,980	$106,660	same as	9,180
95	Administrative Services Managers Management Occupations	$106,860	$114,130	6% below	12,040
96	Data Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$106,560	$120,230	11% below	10,520
97	Fundraising Managers Management Occupations	$106,290	$125,470	15% below	2,860
98	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$105,750	$79,920	+32% above	19,340
99	Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$105,580	$58,970	+79% above	N/A
100	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers Protective Service Occupations	$105,450	$77,970	+35% above	2,860

More ways to explore Illinois pay and compare with national data.

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Cardiologists

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About This Data

All salary data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. State-level data reflects wages for workers employed in Illinois. The "Difference" column shows how Illinois pay compares to the national median for that occupation.

Every figure on WageDex is rendered directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, no number is typed in by an editor. These figures are computed directly from BLS OEWS state-level wage data. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.

Compiled by WageDex Editorial, Occupational Wages Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

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