SOC 37-3019 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Grounds Maintenance Workers, All Other — Chicago
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Median pay for this occupation in Chicago, IL comes to $57,870 a year, ahead of the national median of $46,860 by 23.5%.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow about as fast as average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +2.4%
- Openings per year
- 1,900
- Typical entry-level education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
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
Median pay for this occupation in Chicago, IL comes to $57,870 a year, ahead of the national median of $46,860 by 23.5%. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $49,550 and $74,820. The lowest tenth earn under $49,540, while the highest tenth earn more than $80,080.
Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 441st of 716 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $49,540 | +5.7% |
| 25th | $49,550 | +5.7% |
| Median (50th) | $57,870 | +23.5% |
| 75th | $74,820 | +59.7% |
| 90th | $80,080 | +70.9% |
| Mean | $61,380 | +31.0% |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Chicago run 3.6% above the national average, so the median of $57,870 buys what $55,859 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 19.2% above the national median in real terms.
Published median
$57,870as reported by BLSLocal price level
103.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$55,859US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $57,870 a year, 23.5% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $49,540 to $80,080 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Grounds Maintenance Workers, All Other in Chicago, IL?
The median annual wage is $57,870, or $27.82 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 $46,860, so pay in Chicago, IL is 23.5% 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 $80,080 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $49,540 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.
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.
Explore related data