Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI, ranked by annual average salary. For each job, the table displays the number of employees with that job, as well as the job's entry-level salary. (The entry-level salary is calculated based on the 10% of paid workers with the lowest salaries.)

Based on the table, we see that the highest-paying jobs in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI are those of airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineer, with an average annual salary of $225,340. The second highest-paying jobs are those of chief executive, with an average salary of $224,390.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI has been computed using data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2023. Notably, the highest-paying occupations change from year to year. Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the top 10 highest-paying occupations in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$225,340	$136,240	6,400
2	Chief Executives	$224,390	$116,570	5,160
3	Neurologists	$222,220	$70,450	320
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$219,430	$107,120	1,390
5	Psychiatrists	$215,920	$50,450	510
6	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$215,780	$159,490	600
7	All Other Surgeons	$212,210	$64,000	720
8	Other Specialists Dentists	$201,120	$104,890	70
9	Physicians, Pathologists	$186,930	$67,190	270
10	Air Traffic Controllers	$172,290	$103,710	690
11	General Pediatricians	$166,360	$67,190	910
12	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$164,520	$99,600	18,960
13	Radiologists	$159,530	$76,700	1,530
14	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$156,860	$106,440	6,330
15	All Other Physicians	$155,210	$67,840	15,040
16	Physicists	$138,620	$74,640	1,470
17	Petroleum Engineers	$138,270	$82,480	40
18	Lawyers	$136,290	$73,880	27,200
19	Financial Managers	$136,250	$80,630	35,030
20	Database Architects	$135,860	$79,130	1,240
21	Podiatrists	$135,370	$56,240	290
22	Sales Managers	$134,970	$73,230	23,710
23	Economists	$134,940	$63,820	530
24	Purchasing Managers	$134,270	$94,050	3,420
25	Marketing Managers	$132,860	$77,370	19,440
26	Nuclear Engineers	$132,830	$80,690	170
27	Pharmacists	$132,650	$62,110	9,690
28	Computer Network Architects	$131,720	$79,280	6,240
29	Medical Dosimetrists	$131,650	$101,120	60
30	Human Resources Managers	$131,390	$82,270	10,450
31	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$130,860	$84,520	4,790
32	General Dentists	$130,600	$57,430	3,140
33	Natural Sciences Managers	$130,320	$65,280	1,610
34	Training and Development Managers	$129,790	$76,480	1,580
35	Nurse Midwives	$129,040	$108,650	170
36	All Other Managers	$128,110	$72,720	18,080
37	Physician Assistants	$127,970	$103,160	1,810
38	Public Relations Managers	$127,340	$63,170	2,960
39	Nurse Practitioners	$127,230	$102,300	5,720
40	Software Developers	$126,260	$76,050	40,840
41	Elevator Installers and Repairers	$124,860	$43,430	470
42	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$122,990	$81,450	580
43	Optometrists	$121,610	$69,560	950
44	Industrial Production Managers	$120,950	$80,610	7,970
45	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$119,690	$82,430	200
46	Computer Hardware Engineers	$119,240	$73,830	730
47	Medical and Health Services Managers	$115,400	$75,810	11,980
48	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	$113,030	$66,100	320
49	Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers	$112,260	$50,850	510
50	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$111,760	$55,940	2,250
51	Environmental Engineers	$111,050	$62,150	830
52	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$109,240	$74,920	1,530
53	First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers	$109,230	$70,970	2,570
54	Pile-Driver Operators	$109,010	$90,810	30
55	Information Security Analysts	$108,610	$64,550	3,420
56	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$108,540	$78,410	2,640
57	Materials Scientists	$108,240	$81,780	410
58	Electro-Mechanical Technicians	$108,230	$69,190	120
59	Chemical Engineers	$108,070	$65,700	140
60	Boilermakers	$107,940	$60,970	80
61	Actuaries	$107,690	$78,960	2,360
62	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$107,340	$49,270	370
63	Construction Managers	$106,610	$69,940	11,490
64	Sociologists	$106,480	$65,340	360
65	Other Psychologists	$106,420	$51,900	430
66	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$106,230	$48,810	250
67	Power Plant Operators	$106,090	$77,600	680
68	Tapers	$106,020	$43,820	350
69	Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators	$105,990	$77,430	980
70	Other Physical Scientists	$105,870	$64,800	480
71	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$105,520	$49,980	910
72	Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	$104,990	$74,950	140
73	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	$104,890	$60,940	270
74	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$104,610	$53,530	4,530
75	Data Scientists	$104,370	$58,980	5,100
76	Engineers, All Other	$104,210	$58,240	1,930
77	Administrative Services Managers	$104,100	$65,280	10,550
78	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$103,490	$64,120	9,740
79	Management Analysts	$103,330	$64,070	41,360
80	Veterinarians	$103,310	$71,490	2,100
81	Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents	$102,920	$53,750	610
82	Biomedical Engineers	$102,860	$63,780	420
83	Mechanical Insulation Workers	$102,840	$40,030	520
84	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$102,780	$49,120	1,030
85	Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$102,650	$65,640	1,860
86	Art Directors	$101,970	$61,840	3,680
87	Physical Therapists	$101,840	$64,070	7,640
88	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$101,710	$59,540	7,410
89	Emergency Management Directors	$101,530	$79,210	250
90	General and Operations Managers	$101,430	$44,610	140,130
91	Operations Research Analysts	$101,190	$63,110	3,440
92	Aerospace Engineers	$100,990	$71,100	290
93	Commercial Pilots	$100,730	$31,400	510
94	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	$100,560	$48,520	11,190
95	Database Administrators	$100,510	$55,130	3,940
96	Fundraising Managers	$100,150	$60,130	1,330
97	Materials Engineers	$100,110	$47,300	140
98	Project Management Specialists	$99,880	$57,230	21,610
99	Electrical Engineers	$99,780	$67,270	3,150
100	Computer Systems Analysts	$99,770	$59,130	14,270

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$169,410
2	Air Traffic Controllers	$167,810
3	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$158,210
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$141,480
5	Physicists	$136,600
6	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$136,190
7	Medical Dosimetrists	$133,400
8	Nuclear Engineers	$132,830
9	Sales Managers	$131,660
10	Lawyers	$130,580

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$205,590
2	Other Specialists Dentists	$201,880
3	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$198,430
4	Family Medicine Physicians	$197,130
5	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$195,020
6	Nurse Anesthetists	$181,090
7	General Dentists	$175,420
8	Air Traffic Controllers	$164,920
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$149,240
10	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$145,540

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$204,720
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$196,810
3	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$193,960
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$184,850
5	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$183,640
6	General Pediatricians	$171,970
7	Petroleum Engineers	$170,740
8	General Dentists	$167,950
9	Air Traffic Controllers	$153,360
10	Orthodontists	$151,870

Also see The most popular jobs in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI.

Also see The most popular jobs in Illinois, The top paying jobs in Illinois.