0.1% higher than the US national median ($110,240)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Nuclear Technicians salary in Illinois in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS August 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$66K
P25$81K
P50$110K
P75$124K
P90$125K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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Demand: ACTIVE. Demand is active -- professional & business services openings are at 5.0% (JOLTS, August 2026). A balanced market where the median is a solid, competitive anchor.
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Merit budget: Wages in professional services are rising about 2.5% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 2.1-2.6% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $110,386 to $124,467 (market median to the 75th percentile). The median-to-P75 range keeps offers competitive.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Nuclear Technicians pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 5.8% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 2.5% wage growth of Professional & Business Services (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · MODERATE
Professional & Business Services is running a 5.0% job-openings rate with quits at 2.1% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted down from 5.8% to 5.0% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 1.8 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is narrower than typical, so pay is fairly standardized; small differences move a candidate across the market.
What changed recently
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings eased to 5.0% (down 119K). BLS revised July up from 4.8% to 5.5%, so last month's third straight decline did not happen. Quits recovered to 2.1%; layoffs fell 56K.
Sep 1, 2026JOLTS July 2026: sector openings fell for a third month to 4.8% (June revised to 5.1%), and hires dropped 188K, the largest pullback of any sector. Quits slid to 1.8%.
Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings eased to 5.5% (down 0.3pp), still the highest of any major sector. Quits held at 2.2%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS August 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The median salary for Nuclear Technicians in Illinois is $110,386 per year ($53.07/hr). This is 0.1% higher than the national median of $110,240.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Assist nuclear physicists, nuclear engineers, or other scientists in laboratory, power generation, or electricity production activities. May operate, maintain, or provide quality control for nuclear testing and research equipment. May monitor radiation.
Wage Percentiles: Illinois
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · National adjusted
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$31.61
$65,749
-10.1%
P25
$38.85
$80,808
-18.5%
P50MEDIAN
$53.07
$110,386
+0.1%
P75
$59.84
$124,467
+0.4%
P90Top earners
$60.27
$125,362
-6.2%
How Illinois compares for Nuclear Technicians
Computed from this state's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Nuclear Technicians in Illinois is below national (-10.1%) at entry, in line with national (+0.1%) at the median and below national (-6.2%) at the top.
An offer at the national median of $110,240 would sit at about the 50th percentile in Illinois.
The top of the range earns 1.91 times the bottom here, close to the 1.83 times seen nationally.
Illinois employs 780 people in this role, 12.1% of the national total.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median nuclear technicians salary in Illinois?
The median (P50) annual salary for Nuclear Technicians in Illinois is approximately $110,386, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 0.1% higher than the national median of $110,240. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
