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Highest Paying Jobs in Illinois

Ranked by the average of the local median wages BLS publishes for Illinois, among 141 occupations with at least 1,000 workers in the state.

Highest paying occupations in Illinois
#OccupationAverage median wageWorkers in state
1Computer and Information Systems Managers$170,20535,110
2Financial Managers$162,67457,640
3Marketing Managers$158,09423,050
4Lawyers$157,48838,490
5Sales Managers$150,74333,610
6Human Resources Managers$150,37514,810
7Pharmacists$140,22314,730
8Software Developers$131,26757,740
9Industrial Production Managers$126,56814,420
10Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers$118,95712,690
11Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary$118,94318,180
12Medical and Health Services Managers$116,56327,720
13Construction Managers$113,42120,760
14Personal Financial Advisors$111,36011,940
15Facilities Managers$107,92610,300
16Data Scientists$106,25012,280
17Mechanical Engineers$104,91714,070
18Administrative Services Managers$104,52712,510
19Physical Therapists$104,12212,570
20Management Analysts$103,90845,880
21Project Management Specialists$103,15436,080
22First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$102,37726,990
23General and Operations Managers$102,201206,160
24Computer Systems Analysts$101,50822,680
25Industrial Engineers$101,36421,150

Highest-paying jobs in Illinois

This ranking covers 141 occupations that employ at least 1,000 people in Illinois. The figure used is the employment-weighted average of the local median wages published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, May 2025) for the state's wage areas. Computer and Information Systems Managers comes first at $170,205 a year; number 25 on the list, Industrial Engineers, averages $101,364.

Each occupation links to its Illinois page with the wage areas, the counties and what is left after taxes and living costs. Pay is only part of the picture, so compare it with local rents and taxes before choosing where to work.