The median full-time Chicago city-government employee earned $122,603 in base pay (2024 payroll, in 2026 dollars) against a private-sector median of $73,753 in the metro, a gap of +66%. At the 90th percentile, city pay was $161,122 against $189,971 privately (-15%).
By domain, city pay trails the private sector most in Legal (-17%), Finance (+2%), and Management (+16%) and leads in Protective service (+174%) and Education (+63%). The payroll file covers 24,976 employees; 77.4% of titles map to a domain.
Chicago city pay by occupation domain
| Occupation domain | City median | Private median (metro) | Gap at median | City 90th pct | Private 90th pct | Gap at 90th | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All occupations | $122,603 | $73,753 | +66% | $161,122 | $189,971 | -15% | 24,976 |
| Admin and clerical | $88,166 | $55,874 | +58% | $134,951 | $106,444 | +27% | 2,808 |
| Education | $109,144 | $67,048 | +63% | $142,501 | $122,922 | +16% | 401 |
| Engineering | $130,901 | $108,979 | +20% | $164,770 | $170,830 | -4% | 262 |
| Finance | $108,748 | $106,160 | +2% | $143,719 | $279,368 | -49% | 392 |
| Healthcare | $108,007 | $89,398 | +21% | $156,943 | $201,145 | -22% | 144 |
| Legal | $120,527 | $144,777 | -17% | $174,709 | $721,888 | -76% | 315 |
| Management | $129,534 | $111,747 | +16% | $178,542 | $279,368 | -36% | 977 |
| Protective service | $122,603 | $44,699 | +174% | $145,638 | $109,916 | +33% | 13,723 |
| Skilled trades | $95,972 | $67,048 | +43% | $164,890 | $116,217 | +42% | 205 |
| Software and IT | $142,859 | $119,570 | +20% | $175,524 | $222,920 | -21% | 113 |