Key takeaway: The average Chicago-area wage is $35.28 an hour, about $73,400 a year, and median pay runs from about $31,200 for waiters to $165,660 for lawyers, while renting your own median one-bedroom takes about $57,400 a year.
Chicago pays more than the national average, and most full-time jobs here can cover a place to live, especially if you pick the neighborhood with your paycheck in mind. This guide puts typical Chicago-area pay for common jobs next to what it takes to rent in the city.
The Chicago average salary across all jobs
Across all occupations, the mean wage in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area was $35.28 an hour in May 2025, compared with $33.54 nationwide (BLS). At 2,080 hours a year, that is about $73,382 (our calculation). The median household income in the city was $80,613 in 2024, and $90,770 across the metro area (Census Reporter, ACS 2024; Census Reporter).
Median pay by job
| Job | Median annual pay | What it covers in Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | $165,660 | Your own place at median rent |
| Pharmacists | $140,880 | Your own place at median rent |
| Software developers | $134,380 | Your own place at median rent |
| General and operations managers | $109,390 | Your own place at median rent |
| Police and sheriff’s patrol officers | $107,810 | Your own place at median rent |
| Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters | $103,380 | Your own place at median rent |
| Electricians | $102,350 | Your own place at median rent |
| Registered nurses | $100,490 | Your own place at median rent |
| Dental hygienists | $100,260 | Your own place at median rent |
| Firefighters | $82,820 | Your own place at median rent |
| Accountants and auditors | $82,360 | Your own place at median rent |
| Elementary school teachers | $78,390 | Your own place at median rent |
| Transit and intercity bus drivers | $65,200 | Your own place at median rent |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | $62,300 | Your own place at median rent |
| Construction laborers | $60,890 | Your own place at median rent |
| Medical assistants | $47,270 | A shared place at median rent |
| Customer service representatives | $47,100 | A shared place at median rent |
| Restaurant cooks | $38,930 | A lower-rent neighborhood or a shared place |
| Janitors and cleaners | $38,470 | A lower-rent neighborhood or a shared place |
| Home health and personal care aides | $38,180 | A lower-rent neighborhood or a shared place |
| Retail salespersons | $35,820 | A lower-rent neighborhood or a shared place |
| Cashiers | $35,010 | A lower-rent neighborhood or a shared place |
| Waiters and waitresses | $31,200 | A lower-rent neighborhood or a shared place |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for the Chicago metro area, as republished by WageDex; the BLS site’s interactive table could not be loaded for this guide, so check figures you rely on against BLS. The last column is our calculation, comparing each median with the incomes in our salary guide: about $57,400 for your own one-bedroom at the $2,079 citywide median, and about $42,400 for half of a median two-bedroom.
Average pay by field
| Field | Mean hourly wage |
|---|---|
| Legal | $71.28 |
| Computer and math | $54.84 |
| Healthcare practitioners | $51.06 |
| Business and financial | $46.54 |
| Construction | $40.87 |
| Education | $33.70 |
| Protective service | $32.19 |
| Installation and repair | $31.89 |
| Sales | $28.84 |
| Office and administrative | $25.82 |
| Transportation and moving | $25.81 |
| Building and grounds | $20.87 |
| Healthcare support | $20.79 |
| Food preparation and serving | $18.14 |
Source: BLS, Occupational Employment and Wages in Chicago, May 2025, released July 23, 2026.
The minimum wage
Chicago’s minimum wage rose to $17.05 an hour on July 1, 2026, with tipped workers at $12.96, 76% of the full rate; see our minimum wage guide. In May 2026 the City Council paused the phase-out of the tipped wage for two years, so tipped pay stays at 76% of the minimum through 2027 and reaches the full minimum on July 1, 2030 (WTTW; National Law Review).
Prices are rising, too
Chicago-area consumer prices were up 2.9% over the year to September 2026, and 2.2% excluding food and energy (BLS). Teachers under the current Chicago Public Schools contract get raises of at least 16% in total through 2029 (CPS).
Find your number
Typical pay is only half the picture. Use our salary calculator to see what your life would cost, or compare rents across every neighborhood; one-bedrooms run from about $970 to $3,100 a month depending on where you live.
Sources
- BLS: Occupational Employment and Wages in Chicago, May 2025
- WageDex: BLS OEWS data for the Chicago metro
- Census Reporter: Chicago city
- Census Reporter: Chicago metro area
- BLS: Consumer Price Index, Chicago area, September 2026
- WTTW: tipped wage phase-out paused
- National Law Review: Chicago pauses its tip credit phaseout
- CPS: CPS and CTU reach contract