SOC 23-1011 · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · BLS OEWS May 2025
Median Annual Salary
$165,651
$79.64/hr
3.8% higher than the US national median ($159,661)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Lawyers salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS August 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$87K
P25$107K
P50$166K
P75$232K
P90$331K
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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 $165,651 to $232,274 (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 Lawyers pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 5.6% 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 4.5 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is wider than typical, so expect large pay differences by experience, employer size, and geography; build generous ranges and differentiate strongly.
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 Lawyers in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is $165,651 per year ($79.64/hr). This is 3.8% higher than the national median of $159,661.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.
Wage Percentiles: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · BLS metro data
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$41.86
$87,069
+11.1%
P25
$51.43
$106,974
+3.9%
P50MEDIAN
$79.64
$165,651
+3.8%
P75
$111.67
$232,274
+4.9%
P90Top earners
$159.20
$331,136
-5.8%
How Chicago compares for Lawyers
Computed from this metro's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Lawyers in Chicago is above national (+11.1%) at entry but below national (-5.8%) at the top, so local pay sits relatively lower toward the senior end of the range.
An offer at the national median of $159,661 would sit at about the 48th percentile in Chicago.
The top of the range earns 3.80 times the bottom here against 4.49 times nationally, so pay for this role is more compressed between entry and senior levels in Chicago.
Chicago employs 28,320 people in this role, 3.8% of the national total.
Ordered by BLS median. Shows only metros with published local data for this role.
What employers filed for Lawyers in Chicago
US Department of Labor, Labor Condition Applications · FY2026 Q3 (decisions 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Jun 2026)
Across 67 filings, the median base salary employers stated for this role in Chicago was $209,000, which sits at P66 on the Chicago BLS pay curve.
What this is, and is not. These are base salaries stated on Labor Condition Applications for visa-sponsored roles, floored by prevailing-wage rules: offered pay on a legal form, not a payroll extract, and base only, with no bonus or equity. It shows how employers position pay for the role, not what the whole market pays.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median lawyers salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
The median (P50) annual salary for Lawyers in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is approximately $165,651, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 3.8% higher than the national median of $159,661. 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.
