Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area, 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 Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area are those of nurse anesthetists, with an average annual salary of $229,110. The second highest-paying jobs are those of family medicine physician, with an average salary of $206,820.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area 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 Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$229,110	$159,160	30
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$206,820	$118,560	30
3	General Dentists	$157,730	$55,140	210
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$133,000	$88,420	170
5	Chief Executives	$132,050	$89,980	110
6	Pharmacists	$127,550	$73,920	220
7	Physician Assistants	$126,910	$101,750	30
8	Chemists	$124,950	$57,690	40
9	Sales Managers	$123,110	$58,290	430
10	Purchasing Managers	$121,980	$71,750	40
11	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$120,560	$100,870	30
12	Nuclear Engineers	$115,850	$95,040	110
13	Nurse Practitioners	$114,270	$101,560	150
14	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$113,890	$73,940	170
15	Computer Network Architects	$103,740	$63,330	60
16	Industrial Production Managers	$102,930	$75,870	380
17	Financial Managers	$102,480	$62,940	630
18	Software Developers	$102,390	$53,680	290
19	Lawyers	$101,780	$47,820	220
20	Veterinarians	$101,720	$72,760	100
21	All Other Managers	$100,970	$54,830	220
22	Human Resources Managers	$99,990	$73,440	150
23	Computer Systems Analysts	$98,470	$56,940	120
24	Marketing Managers	$97,940	$54,890	220
25	Electrical Engineers	$97,570	$64,720	150
26	Construction Managers	$97,530	$47,110	280
27	Engineers, All Other	$97,270	$55,060	60
28	Medical and Health Services Managers	$96,210	$63,000	290
29	Physical Therapists	$95,820	$67,490	130
30	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$94,860	$59,730	380
31	Optometrists	$92,820	$53,050	30
32	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$91,170	$44,140	50
33	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$90,560	$48,080	160
34	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	$90,280	$45,070	350
35	Sheet Metal Workers	$85,240	$35,050	150
36	Civil Engineers	$84,820	$60,120	280
37	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$84,570	$60,750	210
38	Occupational Therapists	$82,960	$58,500	70
39	Facilities Managers	$82,790	$38,740	110
40	Brickmasons and Blockmasons	$81,580	$47,030	80
41	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$81,430	$60,420	60
42	Electricians	$81,390	$39,100	560
43	Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators	$81,220	$51,980	40
44	Industrial Engineers	$80,480	$61,000	480
45	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$80,230	$75,180	40
46	Surveyors	$80,170	$58,380	30
47	Administrative Services Managers	$80,020	$58,650	160
48	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers	$79,350	$69,530	190
49	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$78,920	$55,000	130
50	General and Operations Managers	$77,660	$37,380	3,660
51	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$76,590	$45,470	30
52	Management Analysts	$76,470	$43,520	110
53	Financial Examiners	$76,420	$49,620	40
54	Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	$76,360	$52,830	60
55	Project Management Specialists	$76,280	$46,470	260
56	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	$76,220	$42,830	490
57	Mechanical Engineers	$76,000	$50,840	210
58	Registered Nurses	$75,740	$53,510	2,550
59	Database Administrators	$75,170	$43,520	50
60	Financial Analysts	$75,080	$46,050	90
61	Conservation Scientists	$75,030	$47,720	40
62	First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers	$74,850	$61,040	100
63	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$74,270	$44,820	430
64	Loan Officers	$73,590	$42,440	350
65	Cost Estimators	$72,730	$36,230	140
66	Training and Development Specialists	$72,670	$39,730	210
67	Dental Hygienists	$71,260	$59,780	170
68	Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$70,950	$49,980	50
69	Other Education Administrators	$69,990	$44,990	30
70	Chemical Plant and System Operators	$69,100	$41,140	80
71	Compliance Officers	$67,950	$36,260	120
72	Logisticians	$67,570	$38,660	130
73	Civil Engineering Technicians	$66,640	$40,350	190
74	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	$65,830	$34,320	430
75	Respiratory Therapists	$64,950	$51,100	110
76	Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining	$64,870	$51,170	150
77	Other Financial Specialists	$64,850	$36,410	40
78	Chemical Technicians	$64,530	$43,930	40
79	Correctional Officers and Jailers	$64,320	$47,180	1,000
80	Roofers	$63,970	$38,040	210
81	Chiropractors	$63,800	$42,370	70
82	Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists	$63,630	$40,310	140
83	Tax Preparers	$63,420	$30,670	60
84	Personal Financial Advisors	$63,130	$36,140	110
85	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	$62,910	$44,490	1,290
86	Speech-Language Pathologists	$62,730	$48,030	180
87	School Psychologists	$62,710	$47,320	70
88	Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	$62,400	$47,630	180
89	Other Business Operations Specialists	$62,380	$30,160	470
90	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$62,190	$42,220	90
91	Construction and Building Inspectors	$62,090	$36,690	70
92	Buyers and Purchasing Agents	$62,000	$39,230	330
93	Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	$61,960	$37,480	190
94	Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers	$61,900	$36,290	50
95	Instructional Coordinators	$61,870	$38,760	90
96	Accountants and Auditors	$61,690	$42,390	590
97	Insurance Underwriters	$61,340	$46,230	90
98	Credit Analysts	$61,250	$45,210	60
99	Computer Occupations, All Other	$61,210	$44,240	70
100	Radiologic Technologists	$61,140	$49,720	160

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Chief Executives	$185,810
2	General Dentists	$157,730
3	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$125,000
4	Nuclear Power Reactor Operators	$124,330
5	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$123,140
6	Nuclear Engineers	$122,920
7	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$122,210
8	Physician Assistants	$121,090
9	Nurse Practitioners	$121,010
10	Pharmacists	$120,540

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$206,820
2	Chief Executives	$199,260
3	General Dentists	$169,480
4	Pharmacists	$125,660
5	Nuclear Engineers	$120,670
6	Physician Assistants	$119,170
7	Construction Managers	$118,810
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$117,470
9	Nurse Practitioners	$110,280
10	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$110,220

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$206,880
2	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$204,700
3	General Dentists	$163,690
4	Chief Executives	$160,070
5	Pharmacists	$122,260
6	Physician Assistants	$117,450
7	Nuclear Engineers	$117,320
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$116,220
9	Training and Development Managers	$115,810
10	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$114,170

Also see The most popular jobs in Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area.

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