These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Chicago For 2018

By Chris Kolmar - Apr. 19, 2018

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Ever wonder who gets paid the most? Or how much your dentist makes for all the pain they put you through?

We had that same burning desire to know more about the highest paid professions in the Chicago area. And if you can’t tell by that sentence, we’re a bit of what you’d call data nerds.

We decided to go directly to the source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics.

After scrounging through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we discovered that Surgeons are the highest paid people in Chicago.

Here’s a quick look at the top ten highest paying jobs in Chicago:

  1. Surgeons
  2. Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  3. Chief Executives
  4. Family and General Practitioners
  5. Podiatrists
  6. Physicians and Surgeons, All Other
  7. Internists, General
  8. Psychiatrists
  9. Law Teachers, Postsecondary
  10. Anesthesiologists

Everyone’s favorite dentists place number 15 on the list of highest paid professions in the Chicago. So the next time you sit there while they drill you can dwell on the fact that they are getting extremely well paid for it.

If you’re interested, you can read more about the Chicago and Illinois job scene here:

How we determined the highest paid jobs in Chicago For 2018

We looked at the BLS’s data set for all 633 job classifications in Chicago in order to identify those that get paid the most.

Pretty straightforward and easy to do when the government does your job for you 🙂

We used the most recently released BLS data for this analysis which came out on March 30, 2018.

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of Highest Paying Jobs In Chicago

Rank Job Title Average Salary Entry Level Salary # Of People
1 Surgeons $255,580 $142,420 930
2 Obstetricians and Gynecologists $211,500 $74,560 470
3 Chief Executives $188,500 $71,670 13,650
4 Family and General Practitioners $182,930 $54,560 3,510
5 Podiatrists $177,480 $68,620 220
6 Physicians and Surgeons, All Other $173,810 $50,030 9,370
7 Internists, General $172,640 $54,230 1,660
8 Psychiatrists $152,080 $42,980 660
9 Law Teachers, Postsecondary $149,420 $62,250 550
10 Anesthesiologists $148,460 $54,280 500
11 Pediatricians, General $141,320 $55,130 710
12 Computer and Information Systems Managers $132,570 $74,010 10,300
13 Financial Managers $132,170 $56,350 22,980
14 Lawyers $129,220 $54,180 23,150
15 Dentists, General $128,810 $54,310 2,000
16 Sales Managers $128,010 $54,080 16,220
17 Nuclear Engineers $125,450 $87,300 440
18 Physicists $123,950 $81,050 610
19 General and Operations Managers $122,360 $42,090 68,270
20 Marketing Managers $122,250 $55,290 7,580
21 Air Traffic Controllers $115,650 $62,010 580
22 Pharmacists $114,110 $71,320 6,970
23 Computer Network Architects $113,780 $65,650 3,460
24 Public Relations and Fundraising Managers $111,560 $52,350 2,250
25 Sales Engineers $111,460 $55,600 2,830
26 Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers $110,910 $64,180 260
27 Personal Financial Advisors $110,420 $38,890 10,230
28 Compensation and Benefits Managers $109,910 $48,630 680
29 Commercial Pilots $109,000 $34,050 410
30 Financial Examiners $108,110 $59,260 2,030
31 Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School $107,660 $65,510 6,610
32 Atmospheric and Space Scientists $107,250 $81,910 70
33 Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents $106,940 $32,900 15,190
34 Medical and Health Services Managers $106,690 $58,360 7,900
35 Purchasing Managers $106,190 $60,090 2,430
36 Natural Sciences Managers $105,950 $65,450 840
37 Human Resources Managers $105,590 $56,890 5,320
38 Software Developers, Systems Software $104,880 $68,240 7,830
39 First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives $104,580 $73,610 3,790
40 Aerospace Engineers $104,390 $65,790 380
41 Materials Engineers $104,140 $64,010 330
42 Electronics Engineers, Except Computer $103,970 $66,640 2,190
43 Economists $103,350 $53,050 310
44 Construction Managers $102,200 $59,280 5,130
45 Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes $101,060 $25,600 170
46 Education Administrators, Postsecondary $100,910 $51,120 4,860
47 Materials Scientists $100,690 $54,360 190
48 Managers, All Other $100,560 $48,520 24,860
49 First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers $100,500 $64,800 1,940
50 Computer Hardware Engineers $99,590 $63,850 930
51 Industrial Production Managers $98,930 $53,900 3,830
52 Training and Development Managers $98,110 $49,490 1,170
53 Nurse Anesthetists $98,030 $46,320 580
54 Detectives and Criminal Investigators $97,670 $60,850 1,900
55 Athletes and Sports Competitors $96,070 $20,010 360
56 Nurse Practitioners $95,120 $64,830 2,220
57 Computer and Information Research Scientists $95,090 $51,710 530
58 Physical Scientists, All Other $94,850 $62,250 630
59 Financial Analysts $94,840 $46,370 10,230
60 Biological Scientists, All Other $94,780 $63,650 440
61 Management Analysts $94,670 $44,140 19,170
62 Electrical Engineers $94,540 $65,640 3,660
63 Chemical Engineers $94,420 $55,380 420
64 Engineers, All Other $94,270 $53,460 3,030
65 Information Security Analysts $94,090 $58,030 2,660
66 Civil Engineers $94,060 $55,050 6,660
67 Art Directors $93,760 $46,330 1,420
68 Advertising and Promotions Managers $93,360 $34,900 3,070
69 Optometrists $92,510 $57,110 1,670
70 Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary $91,970 $41,090 720
71 Software Developers, Applications $91,530 $39,860 20,550
72 Transportation Inspectors $91,480 $61,090 400
73 Hoist and Winch Operators $91,100 $83,850 200
74 History Teachers, Postsecondary $91,030 $62,120 860
75 Computer Occupations, All Other $90,590 $52,170 9,980
76 Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers $90,270 $53,040 180
77 Mechanical Engineers $89,610 $57,060 5,540
78 Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health $89,520 $47,420 2,060
79 Physics Teachers, Postsecondary $89,220 $45,810 250
80 Actuaries $88,800 $48,630 670
81 Structural Iron and Steel Workers $88,750 $80,710 1,960
82 Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary $88,720 $40,770 40
83 Veterinarians $88,630 $57,250 1,530
84 Producers and Directors $88,320 $19,830 2,600
85 Computer Systems Analysts $88,230 $54,280 18,250
86 Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary $87,950 $43,950 1,380
87 Radiation Therapists $87,340 $62,490 440
88 Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary $87,100 $50,880 410
89 Life Scientists, All Other $87,090 $60,510 280
90 Physical Therapists $86,460 $53,030 7,400
91 Operations Research Analysts $85,660 $47,300 4,270
92 Network and Computer Systems Administrators $84,690 $53,430 9,980
93 Biomedical Engineers $84,560 $61,550 90
94 Database Administrators $84,390 $51,800 3,350
95 Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers $84,140 $71,630 390
96 Urban and Regional Planners $84,100 $53,100 360
97 Elevator Installers and Repairers $84,030 $52,100 1,270
98 Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other $83,540 $57,700 200
99 Geography Teachers, Postsecondary $83,390 $50,890 70
100 First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers $82,840 $53,820 240

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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