Jobs in the United States → United States guide → Metro areas → Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Pay, demand and occupations in this metropolitan area.

In short: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 4,513,280 jobs, median pay $54,720 a year.

By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 09/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.

$54,720median pay
4,513,280jobs
95cities listed
$130,790top (90th pct.)
🆕 Work guides: live jobs + official data, law, permits, pay and cost of living. United States · all 51 states → · 250 largest cities + map · 200 largest companies · 240 best job niches · 22 occupation fields · 100 questions

Overview

METRO Official statistic Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · Data: May 2025

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is a metropolitan area in Illinois · Indiana. BLS counts 4,513,280 wage-and-salary jobs here, with a median pay of $54,720 a year (the lowest-paid tenth earn under $34,260 and the highest-paid tenth more than $130,790).

Cities in our guides that belong to this area: Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin, Waukegan, Cicero, Schaumburg, Hammond, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook.

Private-sector jobs →Federal jobs →All metro areas

Largest occupations

METRO Official statistic Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · Data: May 2025

The 40 largest occupations here (at least 100 jobs).

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Median pay ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Location quotient ⇅
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand157,920$40,550$31,860$56,4401.84
General and Operations Managers122,930$109,390$58,000$298,0901.21
Home Health and Personal Care Aides108,520$38,180$35,030$42,5000.87
Registered Nurses100,240$100,490$77,410$119,2601.02
Cashiers99,240$35,010$31,200$41,2801.11
Fast Food and Counter Workers97,280$34,630$31,200$38,6100.87
Retail Salespersons96,950$35,820$31,200$48,5800.86
Stockers and Order Fillers79,850$38,450$33,310$49,1000.97
Customer Service Representatives75,240$47,100$34,480$71,5301.00
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners70,000$38,470$32,760$50,0001.09
Office Clerks, General66,840$46,330$32,580$72,9100.93
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers62,210$62,300$41,300$88,2301.04
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel55,730$70,710$39,570$154,5401.53
Waiters and Waitresses54,100$31,200$31,200$50,4100.82
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive50,190$50,440$34,300$78,8201.01
Security Guards48,360$39,990$35,940$64,1801.30
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators47,970$43,650$34,160$61,5801.18
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary46,770$37,840$31,200$48,1001.13
Nursing Assistants45,850$46,940$38,980$54,4501.09
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education45,840$78,390$48,960$105,2501.14
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General45,710$58,020$36,870$82,3201.03
Cooks, Restaurant41,690$38,930$32,150$46,6201.02
Financial Managers41,590$168,810$103,490$321,2001.70
Accountants and Auditors41,360$82,360$59,530$134,1000.98
Software Developers40,370$134,380$83,820$203,4100.82
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products38,490$75,350$46,240$137,0001.07
Management Analysts37,510$105,090$60,760$177,7701.44
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks35,660$51,440$36,140$73,4300.89
Light Truck Drivers34,680$47,950$34,780$91,9001.22
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers33,180$71,730$47,650$106,0600.80
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education32,790$98,970$60,380$140,6001.06
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists30,970$80,400$49,910$140,2601.19
Receptionists and Information Clerks30,540$38,060$31,690$49,5601.16
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers30,180$42,650$32,150$68,0000.85
Bartenders28,750$31,200$31,200$48,5301.31
Lawyers28,320$165,660$87,070$331,1401.29
Food Preparation Workers27,100$35,410$31,200$45,3301.04
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers26,770$48,900$36,830$79,4600.82
Construction Laborers26,690$60,890$39,100$105,5000.84
Human Resources Specialists26,470$78,210$49,580$125,2201.00

Top pay

METRO Official statistic Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · Data: May 2025

The 40 highest-paying occupations among those with at least 300 jobs.

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Median pay ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Location quotient ⇅
Surgeons, All Other340$462,620$73,320$663,9800.46
Chief Executives3,610$344,960$142,940$599,5200.61
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers6,360$293,490$179,840$429,0402.11
Nurse Anesthetists840$265,880$103,490$479,4100.56
Psychiatrists600$258,750$134,770$487,5600.74
General Internal Medicine Physicians680$226,060$67,080$521,8100.35
Family Medicine Physicians1,430$225,080$94,990$320,3800.46
Obstetricians and Gynecologists1,120$208,000$208,000$369,8001.81
Air Traffic Controllers850$189,780$89,690$225,6801.30
Pediatricians, General860$188,340$106,520$379,2600.75
Computer and Information Systems Managers24,950$173,760$112,980$280,0601.28
Financial Managers41,590$168,810$103,490$321,2001.70
Natural Sciences Managers2,270$167,040$87,010$293,2700.72
Lawyers28,320$165,660$87,070$331,1401.29
Marketing Managers17,400$165,340$98,400$277,2201.52
Architectural and Engineering Managers6,670$163,430$112,440$235,2401.04
Sales Managers25,390$158,690$80,060$288,4301.37
Commercial Pilots840$157,420$51,890$376,8300.61
Human Resources Managers10,810$156,770$93,230$270,1501.69
Dentists, General5,910$156,100$123,920$290,8501.64
Compensation and Benefits Managers610$155,340$79,320$237,0600.91
Purchasing Managers3,250$155,080$102,690$225,4501.33
Veterinarians1,530$148,730$80,770$289,3100.63
Database Architects1,260$147,490$100,510$200,1200.65
Optometrists1,160$145,630$93,350$186,2500.93
Managers, All Other26,170$145,370$83,320$239,3401.45
Computer Network Architects5,400$143,800$95,930$205,3401.04
Pharmacists8,930$140,880$84,950$171,7100.96
Physicists1,510$137,140$81,830$221,3802.54
Computer and Information Research Scientists490$135,630$49,190$243,3600.45
Software Developers40,370$134,380$83,820$203,4100.82
Computer Hardware Engineers1,080$133,860$76,450$210,1000.49
Training and Development Managers1,440$133,800$76,690$225,0001.03
Public Relations Managers2,190$133,210$77,680$221,4401.01
Nurse Practitioners6,530$131,740$106,260$164,7500.70
Industrial Production Managers8,850$129,840$86,490$216,7201.24
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary11,050$128,780$79,680$171,5401.16
Physician Assistants3,050$127,940$105,160$164,2000.65
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer570$125,650$87,960$208,2000.20
Information Security Analysts3,480$125,310$79,460$174,4500.63

Fields

METRO Official statistic Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · Data: May 2025

Sort:
Field ⇅Jobs ⇅Median pay ⇅Location quotient ⇅
Office and Administrative Support488,940$48,8400.95
Transportation and Material Moving484,580$45,9201.22
Management404,010$131,8901.25
Sales and Related390,370$41,8401.00
Food Preparation and Serving Related370,240$35,2200.93
Business and Financial Operations305,300$84,7801.00
Production286,630$46,9401.15
Educational Instruction and Library282,420$61,7001.07
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical279,160$91,3200.98
Healthcare Support204,740$39,2300.89
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair145,360$61,4300.82
Construction and Extraction132,250$84,2300.71
Computer and Mathematical131,320$105,1700.86
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance122,840$39,6400.93
Protective Service120,410$51,4101.10
Personal Care and Service104,260$36,5901.10
Community and Social Service74,990$58,8600.97
Architecture and Engineering55,170$99,5600.73
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media49,450$66,3200.83
Legal43,470$112,4401.15
Life, Physical, and Social Science35,310$84,7000.83
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry2,050$41,1700.16

Cities

CITY Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
City ⇅State ⇅Population ⇅Median rent ⇅
ChicagoIllinois2,711,226$1,440
AuroraIllinois179,898$1,596
NapervilleIllinois150,692$1,885
JolietIllinois150,445$1,276
ElginIllinois114,934$1,361
WaukeganIllinois89,076$1,205
CiceroIllinois82,797$1,154
SchaumburgIllinois76,868$1,812
HammondIndiana76,768$1,134
EvanstonIllinois76,340$1,762
Arlington HeightsIllinois76,005$1,760
BolingbrookIllinois74,096$1,749
GaryIndiana68,113$1,012
PalatineIllinois66,293$1,549
SkokieIllinois66,219$1,552
Des PlainesIllinois59,156$1,606
Orland ParkIllinois57,916$1,440
Oak LawnIllinois56,861$1,335
BerwynIllinois55,595$1,215
Mount ProspectIllinois55,472$1,502
Tinley ParkIllinois54,842$1,495
WheatonIllinois53,557$1,799
Oak ParkIllinois53,292$1,593
Hoffman EstatesIllinois51,175$1,734
Downers GroveIllinois50,054$1,656
GlenviewIllinois47,752$2,148
PlainfieldIllinois46,708$2,119
ElmhurstIllinois45,671$1,975
LombardIllinois43,619$1,948
Buffalo GroveIllinois42,891$2,037
RomeovilleIllinois41,152$1,886
Crystal LakeIllinois40,579$1,468
BartlettIllinois40,501$1,883
DeKalbIllinois40,443$1,029
Carol StreamIllinois39,460$1,529
StreamwoodIllinois39,001$1,809
Park RidgeIllinois38,667$1,537
WheelingIllinois38,433$1,663
PortageIndiana38,082$1,231
CarpentersvilleIllinois37,346$1,414
Hanover ParkIllinois36,732$1,594
MerrillvilleIndiana36,476$1,282
OswegoIllinois36,375$1,860
AddisonIllinois35,489$1,245
Calumet CityIllinois35,100$1,177
ValparaisoIndiana34,733$1,224
NorthbrookIllinois34,585$2,463
Crown PointIndiana34,393$1,485
WoodridgeIllinois33,941$1,494
St. CharlesIllinois32,854$1,819
Glendale HeightsIllinois32,808$1,590
Elk Grove VillageIllinois31,987$1,618
MundeleinIllinois31,915$1,566
North ChicagoIllinois30,643$1,426
GurneeIllinois30,510$1,655
Highland ParkIllinois30,398$1,925
AlgonquinIllinois30,067$1,723
NilesIllinois30,064$1,336
ScherervilleIndiana29,701$1,310
HobartIndiana29,558$1,206
Lake in the HillsIllinois28,800$1,689
BurbankIllinois28,739$1,265
Glen EllynIllinois28,390$1,433
LansingIllinois28,284$1,268
McHenryIllinois28,074$1,553
New LenoxIllinois28,006$1,431
HuntleyIllinois28,005$1,622
WilmetteIllinois27,503$1,978
BataviaIllinois27,151$1,347
Round Lake BeachIllinois27,079$1,543
Vernon HillsIllinois26,876$1,903
Oak ForestIllinois26,805$1,328
Chicago HeightsIllinois26,736$1,038
LockportIllinois26,409$1,525
WoodstockIllinois26,147$1,212
East ChicagoIndiana26,022$854
West ChicagoIllinois25,395$1,469
Morton GroveIllinois24,619$2,164
ZionIllinois24,600$1,186
Melrose ParkIllinois24,549$1,176
Homer GlenIllinois24,529$1,861
South ElginIllinois24,217$1,640
Rolling MeadowsIllinois24,027$1,607
Elmwood ParkIllinois23,868$1,334
MunsterIndiana23,733$1,507
WestmontIllinois23,724$1,533
HighlandIndiana23,680$1,230
YorkvilleIllinois23,617$1,662
St. JohnIndiana22,567$989
DyerIndiana16,400$1,225
GriffithIndiana16,273$1,235
Cedar LakeIndiana15,295$1,350
ChestertonIndiana14,446$1,274
Lake StationIndiana13,185$1,124
LowellIndiana11,073$1,123

Open jobs

Open private-sector jobs by city of this area:

Chicago · Aurora · Naperville · Joliet · Elgin · Waukegan · Cicero · Schaumburg · Hammond · Evanston

FAQ

How many jobs are there in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

BLS counts 4,513,280 wage-and-salary jobs (OEWS, May 2025).

What is the median pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

$54,720 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Which occupation pays most in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Surgeons, All Other, with a median of $462,620 among occupations with at least 300 jobs.

Sources

Sources

Jobs in other countries

🇺🇸 United States🇩🇪 Germany🇸🇪 Sweden🇸🇬 Singapore