Computer Programmers Salary — Chicago, Illinois

The average Computer Programmers in Chicago, Illinois earns $103,330 a year.

$103,330 / year, mean
↓ 3.7% below national average 100th percentile in Illinois

Chicago sits at the very top of the range for this role in Illinois — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's close to the national average for computer programmers — a fairly typical rate for this role. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within Illinois

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
650
Estimate confidence
RSE 8.5%
Cost of living 104 #31 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 1770 #92 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $353,998 #78 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $88,850 #28 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Chicago ranks #31 for cost of living and #78 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $150,780 San Diego $129,530 New York $128,880 Santa Cruz $128,360 San Francisco $127,030 Bend $122,240 Baltimore $117,960 Lexington Park $116,010 Corvallis $115,020 Spokane $113,420 San Luis Obispo $113,250 Charlottesville $113,190 Naples $113,080 Sacramento $112,710 Santa Rosa $112,410 Portland $111,950 Richmond $111,950 Austin $109,100 Louisville $108,930 Santa Maria $108,440 Trenton $108,350 Los Angeles $108,020 Virginia Beach $107,770 Bremerton $107,480 Philadelphia $107,240 Bellingham $106,700 Indianapolis $106,400 Dallas $106,330 Visalia $105,690 Vallejo $105,130 Tampa $104,980 Miami $104,920 Elkhart $104,760 Eugene $104,710 Riverside $104,620 Salem $104,560 Crestview $103,710 Chicago $103,330 Evansville $102,360 Merced $102,030 Jacksonville $101,960 Olympia $101,790 Blacksburg $99,690 Houston $99,430 Lexington $99,180 Syracuse $98,960 Champaign $98,760 Fresno $98,190 Buffalo $98,170 Modesto $97,650 Pensacola $96,940 Reading $96,760 Allentown $96,360 Oxnard $96,290 Medford $96,240 Kiryas Joel $95,490 Fort Myers $95,430 Midland $95,170 Orlando $94,810 Detroit $94,570 Palm Bay $93,040 Roanoke $92,990 Hagerstown $92,270 Harrisburg $92,060 Fort Wayne $91,790 Atlantic City $90,990 Pittsburgh $90,530 York $90,380 Rochester $90,250 Lancaster $89,990 Port St. Lucie $89,990 South Bend $89,880 Lakeland $89,000 Scranton $88,960 Traverse City $88,790 Bloomington $88,760 Albany $88,020 Kalamazoo $87,730 Waco $87,720 Grand Rapids $87,050 Ann Arbor $86,980 Binghamton $86,440 Beaumont $84,760 Sarasota $83,970 Corpus Christi $83,550 College Station $83,510 Utica $82,900 State College $82,860 Gainesville $82,680 Amarillo $82,460 McAllen $81,490 Killeen $81,020 Dover $80,490 Lansing $80,240 Longview $78,530 Lubbock $77,460 Erie $76,540 Tallahassee $75,480 El Paso $73,590 Panama City $71,650 Springfield $71,250 Flint $71,060
CityMean salaryvs. Chicago
Albany, New York$88,020-14.8%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$96,360-6.7%
Amarillo, Texas$82,460-20.2%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$86,980-15.8%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$90,990-11.9%
Austin, Texas$109,100+5.6%
Baltimore, Maryland$117,960+14.2%
Beaumont, Texas$84,760-18.0%
Bellingham, Washington$106,700+3.3%
Bend, Oregon$122,240+18.3%
Binghamton, New York$86,440-16.3%
Blacksburg, Virginia$99,690-3.5%
Bloomington, Indiana$88,760-14.1%
Bremerton, Washington$107,480+4.0%
Buffalo, New York$98,170-5.0%
Fort Myers, Florida$95,430-7.6%
Champaign, Illinois$98,760-4.4%
Charlottesville, Virginia$113,190+9.5%
College Station, Texas$83,510-19.2%
Corpus Christi, Texas$83,550-19.1%
Corvallis, Oregon$115,020+11.3%
Crestview, Florida$103,710+0.4%
Dallas, Texas$106,330+2.9%
Detroit, Michigan$94,570-8.5%
Dover, Delaware$80,490-22.1%
Elkhart, Indiana$104,760+1.4%
El Paso, Texas$73,590-28.8%
Erie, Pennsylvania$76,540-25.9%
Eugene, Oregon$104,710+1.3%
Evansville, Indiana$102,360-0.9%
Flint, Michigan$71,060-31.2%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$91,790-11.2%
Fresno, California$98,190-5.0%
Gainesville, Florida$82,680-20.0%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$87,050-15.8%
Hagerstown, Maryland$92,270-10.7%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$92,060-10.9%
Houston, Texas$99,430-3.8%
Indianapolis, Indiana$106,400+3.0%
Jacksonville, Florida$101,960-1.3%
Kalamazoo, Michigan$87,730-15.1%
Killeen, Texas$81,020-21.6%
Kiryas Joel, New York$95,490-7.6%
Lakeland, Florida$89,000-13.9%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$89,990-12.9%
Lansing, Michigan$80,240-22.3%
Lexington, Kentucky$99,180-4.0%
Lexington Park, Maryland$116,010+12.3%
Longview, Texas$78,530-24.0%
Los Angeles, California$108,020+4.5%
Louisville, Kentucky$108,930+5.4%
Lubbock, Texas$77,460-25.0%
McAllen, Texas$81,490-21.1%
Medford, Oregon$96,240-6.9%
Merced, California$102,030-1.3%
Miami, Florida$104,920+1.5%
Midland, Texas$95,170-7.9%
Modesto, California$97,650-5.5%
Naples, Florida$113,080+9.4%
New York, New York$128,880+24.7%
Sarasota, Florida$83,970-18.7%
Olympia, Washington$101,790-1.5%
Orlando, Florida$94,810-8.2%
Oxnard, California$96,290-6.8%
Palm Bay, Florida$93,040-10.0%
Panama City, Florida$71,650-30.7%
Pensacola, Florida$96,940-6.2%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$107,240+3.8%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$90,530-12.4%
Portland, Oregon$111,950+8.3%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$89,990-12.9%
Reading, Pennsylvania$96,760-6.4%
Richmond, Virginia$111,950+8.3%
Riverside, California$104,620+1.2%
Roanoke, Virginia$92,990-10.0%
Rochester, New York$90,250-12.7%
Sacramento, California$112,710+9.1%
Salem, Oregon$104,560+1.2%
San Diego, California$129,530+25.4%
San Francisco, California$127,030+22.9%
San Jose, California$150,780+45.9%
San Luis Obispo, California$113,250+9.6%
Santa Cruz, California$128,360+24.2%
Santa Maria, California$108,440+4.9%
Santa Rosa, California$112,410+8.8%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$88,960-13.9%
South Bend, Indiana$89,880-13.0%
Spokane, Washington$113,420+9.8%
Springfield, Illinois$71,250-31.0%
State College, Pennsylvania$82,860-19.8%
Syracuse, New York$98,960-4.2%
Tallahassee, Florida$75,480-27.0%
Tampa, Florida$104,980+1.6%
Traverse City, Michigan$88,790-14.1%
Trenton, New Jersey$108,350+4.9%
Utica, New York$82,900-19.8%
Vallejo, California$105,130+1.7%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$107,770+4.3%
Visalia, California$105,690+2.3%
Waco, Texas$87,720-15.1%
York, Pennsylvania$90,380-12.5%

This metro area spans more than one state — where you actually pay income tax depends on where you work, not just where BLS assigns the area. Choose your work state:

Gross salary
103,330/yr
Estimated take-home
76,549/yr
Est. total withheld
25.9%

Single filer, federal + state tax (where the selected state levies one) + FICA, 2025 rates, for whichever state you select above. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional.

View cost of living in this state All Computer Programmers salaries in Illinois → All Computer Programmers salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 15-1251 SOC code
Official area Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 16980 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: il_idor_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
NapervilleElgin
Multi-state area: IL;IN
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Illinois

Population (metro area)
9,359,555