Software engineer salary in Chicago, IL
Software engineers in the Chicago metro earn a median of $134,380 a year. That is 1.2% below the US median, and 4.6% below it once you account for higher prices in Chicago.
Median salary
$134,380
US median: $135,980
The middle half earn
$104,530 – $167,650
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$129,720
Chicago prices: 3.6% above US average
H-1B median offer
$130,707
3,401 approved applications
Pay range
The top 10% of software engineers in Chicago earn more than $203,410 a year. The bottom 10% earn less than $83,820.
10th percentile $83,820, 25th $104,530, 75th $167,650, 90th $203,410.
10th percentile $82,460, 25th $105,210, 75th $171,980, 90th $214,670.
10th percentile $107,470, 25th $108,077, 75th $153,317, 90th $175,000.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median.
How far the pay goes in Chicago
Prices in Chicago are 3.6% above the US average, which makes the median worth $129,720 in US-average dollars. Housing costs 12.0% more than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Other tech jobs in Chicago
Median yearly pay and the number of people in each job across the Chicago metro.
| Job | People | Median |
|---|---|---|
| IT managers | 24,950 | $173,760 |
| Network architects | 5,400 | $143,800 |
| Software engineers | 40,370 | $134,380 |
| Information security analysts | 3,480 | $125,310 |
| Database administrators | 1,870 | $109,680 |
| Data scientists | 7,940 | $107,640 |
| QA analysts and testers | 5,010 | $105,580 |
| Computer systems analysts | 14,660 | $103,490 |
| Network and systems administrators | 6,950 | $103,170 |
| Computer programmers | 650 | $99,750 |
| Web developers | 2,790 | $96,870 |
| Web and digital interface designers | 1,470 | $87,920 |
| IT support specialists | 19,680 | $60,730 |
What H-1B employers offer in Chicago
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 3,401 H-1B applications for software engineers in the Chicago metro, from 1,251 employers.
Median offer
$130,707
Middle half
$108,077 – $153,317
Employers
1,251
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 368
- Level II: 1,288
- Level III: 678
- Level IV (most experienced): 654
- Not stated: 413
These are salaries offered on approved applications, not salaries paid. Each application lists only its main work site.
Job outlook
+15.8%
The BLS expects over 267,000 more software developer jobs across the US from 2024 to 2034. Jobs overall are expected to grow 3.1%.
778 open tech jobs in Chicago right now
From over 100 companies. 62 were posted in the past week.
Sources and notes
- Salaries and job counts: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published May 15, 2026), Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro. The BLS counts software engineers as "Software Developers" (job code 15-1252).
- Cost of living: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
- H-1B offers: US Department of Labor, H-1B application data, October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Approved H-1B applications with job code 15-1252 and a work site in one of the metro area's 13 counties.
- Job outlook: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024 to 2034, whole US.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.