Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Illinois

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Illinois, 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 Illinois are those of nurse anesthetists, with an average annual salary of $230,410. The second highest-paying jobs are those of airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineer, with an average salary of $225,270.

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

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$230,410	$107,120	1,930
2	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$225,270	$136,240	6,570
3	Neurologists	$224,430	$70,450	380
4	Chief Executives	$220,390	$102,960	6,360
5	Psychiatrists	$216,380	$50,450	650
6	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$216,280	$175,700	980
7	Other Specialists Dentists	$205,910	$104,890	80
8	All Other Physicians	$186,790	$67,840	18,850
9	General Pediatricians	$170,440	$69,850	1,290
10	Radiologists	$159,530	$76,700	1,960
11	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$159,100	$96,510	24,040
12	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$154,510	$104,480	8,330
13	Podiatrists	$153,550	$56,240	370
14	Physicists	$138,620	$74,640	1,620
15	Economists	$134,730	$63,820	610
16	Lawyers	$133,440	$68,330	31,720
17	Database Architects	$132,840	$82,080	1,520
18	Financial Managers	$132,430	$78,260	44,300
19	Purchasing Managers	$132,230	$93,080	4,260
20	Sales Managers	$131,830	$71,030	29,950
21	Pharmacists	$131,770	$63,300	12,560
22	Marketing Managers	$130,010	$71,820	24,080
23	Computer Network Architects	$128,790	$77,030	7,980
24	Medical Dosimetrists	$128,350	$99,500	70
25	Human Resources Managers	$128,330	$79,120	12,750
26	Physician Assistants	$126,460	$98,950	2,580
27	Nurse Midwives	$125,670	$105,770	280
28	Public Relations Managers	$125,590	$62,030	3,500
29	Petroleum Engineers	$125,210	$50,520	110
30	Training and Development Managers	$125,170	$71,180	1,920
31	All Other Managers	$124,850	$65,950	22,980
32	Nurse Practitioners	$124,840	$100,520	7,990
33	Nuclear Engineers	$124,640	$95,040	420
34	Other Life Scientists	$124,530	$52,070	430
35	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$123,560	$76,680	6,900
36	Natural Sciences Managers	$122,660	$62,470	2,090
37	Hoist and Winch Operators	$121,450	$121,450	220
38	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$119,330	$79,180	660
39	Computer Hardware Engineers	$119,240	$75,370	880
40	Software Developers	$118,470	$67,560	58,300
41	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$116,930	$61,570	860
42	Optometrists	$115,590	$60,360	1,290
43	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$114,330	$77,380	330
44	Industrial Production Managers	$110,690	$78,290	11,090
45	Orthodontists	$110,610	$110,610	630
46	Chemical Engineers	$110,130	$59,980	190
47	Information Security Analysts	$108,510	$64,180	4,700
48	Environmental Engineers	$108,500	$58,250	990
49	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$108,410	$62,170	230
50	Electro-Mechanical Technicians	$108,230	$57,980	150
51	Materials Scientists	$108,120	$81,770	440
52	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$108,000	$49,980	1,020
53	Pile-Driver Operators	$107,890	$107,890	30
54	Forensic Science Technicians	$107,520	$59,380	330
55	Actuaries	$107,400	$77,510	2,960
56	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$106,750	$59,970	1,880
57	Sociologists	$106,480	$65,340	350
58	Other Psychologists	$106,420	$51,380	570
59	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$106,350	$45,780	360
60	Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators	$105,990	$67,810	1,460
61	Medical and Health Services Managers	$105,940	$70,620	16,040
62	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	$105,290	$66,100	570
63	Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	$104,980	$74,950	160
64	Tapers	$104,940	$68,160	370
65	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$104,140	$73,730	240
66	Construction Managers	$103,830	$64,950	14,990
67	Data Scientists	$103,730	$58,980	6,350
68	Agricultural Engineers	$103,170	$68,410	30
69	Biomedical Engineers	$102,890	$63,780	430
70	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$102,810	$75,110	4,550
71	Administrative Services Managers	$102,780	$62,720	12,970
72	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$102,660	$48,950	1,490
73	Veterinarians	$102,530	$71,490	2,840
74	Management Analysts	$102,310	$62,050	49,230
75	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$102,230	$63,100	13,160
76	Art Directors	$101,790	$60,750	4,190
77	Boilermakers	$101,750	$60,970	80
78	Emergency Management Directors	$101,520	$66,190	390
79	Operations Research Analysts	$101,100	$62,010	4,360
80	Engineers, All Other	$101,070	$58,520	3,280
81	Physical Therapists	$100,310	$61,420	9,460
82	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$100,300	$54,910	5,100
83	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	$100,290	$55,380	1,000
84	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$100,200	$57,430	9,880
85	First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers	$99,950	$65,350	3,650
86	Statisticians	$99,670	$66,030	380
87	Computer Systems Analysts	$99,050	$58,920	20,880
88	Facilities Managers	$99,010	$61,320	5,270
89	Aerospace Engineers	$98,750	$72,460	710
90	Database Administrators	$98,500	$52,180	5,000
91	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	$98,370	$48,200	14,320
92	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$98,120	$34,590	470
93	Power Plant Operators	$98,060	$59,080	730
94	Industrial Engineers	$97,910	$63,410	15,580
95	Mechanical Insulation Workers	$97,360	$40,030	730
96	General and Operations Managers	$97,300	$42,200	191,820
97	Other Physical Scientists	$97,050	$51,980	630
98	Sales Engineers	$97,030	$63,170	1,500
99	Electrical Engineers	$96,990	$64,910	4,370
100	Nuclear Medicine Technologists	$96,760	$77,290	760

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$169,410
2	Air Traffic Controllers	$160,010
3	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$151,440
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$140,960
5	Physicists	$136,600
6	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$134,760
7	Postsecondary Home Economics Teachers	$129,580
8	General Dentists	$129,580
9	Lawyers	$129,090
10	Pharmacists	$128,580

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$203,700
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$194,980
3	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$194,530
4	General Dentists	$181,010
5	Other Specialists Dentists	$173,160
6	Air Traffic Controllers	$157,920
7	Orthodontists	$154,590
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$146,620
9	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$139,470
10	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$138,970

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$205,130
2	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$204,200
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$192,250
4	General Pediatricians	$190,950
5	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$183,210
6	General Dentists	$170,790
7	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$168,060
8	Orthodontists	$154,460
9	Air Traffic Controllers	$149,740
10	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$142,390

Also see The most popular jobs in Illinois.