SalaryExplorer

SOC 47-4021 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers — Chicago

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

$146,580 /year
$70.47per hour
850jobs in area
+33.4%vs US median

In Chicago, IL the median wage for Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers reaches $146,580 a year.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $109,91010TH$68,71025TH$100,840MEDIAN$146,58090TH$169,990

How pay has moved

$158,308$87,9432019202020212022202320242025$146,580
$99,670 in 2019 to $146,580 in 2025, +47.1% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow faster than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+5.0%
Openings per year
2,000
Typical entry-level education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-job training
Apprenticeship

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

In Chicago, IL the median wage for Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers reaches $146,580 a year. That is 33.4% more than the national median of $109,910. Pay ranges from under $68,710 at the tenth percentile to more than $169,990 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $100,840 to $165,500.

Employment stands at 850, or 0.2 jobs per thousand held locally. Of the 716 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 37th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$68,710−37.5%
25th$100,840−8.3%
Median (50th)$146,580+33.4%
75th$165,500+50.6%
90th$169,990+54.7%
Mean$131,010+19.2%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Chicago run 3.6% above the national average, so the median of $146,580 buys what $141,486 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 28.7% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$146,580as reported by BLS

Local price level

103.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$141,486US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $146,580 a year, 33.4% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $68,710 to $169,990 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 850 jobs in this occupation.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers in Chicago, IL?

The median annual wage is $146,580, or $70.47 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $109,910, so pay in Chicago, IL is 33.4% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Chicago, IL earns more than $169,990 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $68,710 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 850 jobs in this occupation in Chicago, IL. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.