Meter Readers, Utilities Salary — Chicago, Illinois

The average Meter Readers, Utilities in Chicago, Illinois earns $77,240 a year.

$77,240 / year, mean
↑ 34.8% above 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 a substantial premium — this metro pays far more for meter readers, utilities than the U.S. average. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Illinois

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
250
Estimate confidence
RSE 3.6%
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 Francisco $98,850 Seattle $81,610 Sacramento $79,570 Chicago $77,240 Riverside $76,850 Philadelphia $74,140 Los Angeles $74,020 Pittsburgh $71,740 New York $71,500 San Diego $70,700 Detroit $65,060 Portland $64,730 Indianapolis $64,170 Jacksonville $62,180 Albany $60,470 Morgantown $60,320 Vineland $59,550 Buffalo $54,380 York $54,250 Louisville $52,260 Miami $50,420 Wildwood $50,300 Lexington $48,390 Port St. Lucie $48,230 Rochester $47,990 Houston $47,980 Orlando $47,680 Dallas $47,620 Austin $47,310 Sarasota $46,870 Bowling Green $46,550 San Antonio $45,360 Huntington $45,240 Deltona $44,870 Lakeland $44,350 Richmond $44,320 Tampa $43,650 Panama City $43,140 Palm Bay $40,870 Virginia Beach $39,020 El Paso $38,660 Bloomington $37,940 Brownsville $34,590 McAllen $34,020
CityMean salaryvs. Chicago
Albany, New York$60,470-21.7%
Austin, Texas$47,310-38.7%
Bloomington, Indiana$37,940-50.9%
Bowling Green, Kentucky$46,550-39.7%
Brownsville, Texas$34,590-55.2%
Buffalo, New York$54,380-29.6%
Dallas, Texas$47,620-38.3%
Deltona, Florida$44,870-41.9%
Detroit, Michigan$65,060-15.8%
El Paso, Texas$38,660-49.9%
Houston, Texas$47,980-37.9%
Huntington, West Virginia$45,240-41.4%
Indianapolis, Indiana$64,170-16.9%
Jacksonville, Florida$62,180-19.5%
Lakeland, Florida$44,350-42.6%
Lexington, Kentucky$48,390-37.4%
Los Angeles, California$74,020-4.2%
Louisville, Kentucky$52,260-32.3%
McAllen, Texas$34,020-56.0%
Miami, Florida$50,420-34.7%
Morgantown, West Virginia$60,320-21.9%
New York, New York$71,500-7.4%
Sarasota, Florida$46,870-39.3%
Orlando, Florida$47,680-38.3%
Palm Bay, Florida$40,870-47.1%
Panama City, Florida$43,140-44.1%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$74,140-4.0%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$71,740-7.1%
Portland, Oregon$64,730-16.2%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$48,230-37.6%
Richmond, Virginia$44,320-42.6%
Riverside, California$76,850-0.5%
Rochester, New York$47,990-37.9%
Sacramento, California$79,570+3.0%
San Antonio, Texas$45,360-41.3%
San Diego, California$70,700-8.5%
San Francisco, California$98,850+28.0%
Seattle, Washington$81,610+5.7%
Tampa, Florida$43,650-43.5%
Vineland, New Jersey$59,550-22.9%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$39,020-49.5%
Wildwood, Florida$50,300-34.9%
York, Pennsylvania$54,250-29.8%

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
77,240/yr
Estimated take-home
59,486/yr
Est. total withheld
23.0%

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 Meter Readers, Utilities salaries in Illinois → All Meter Readers, Utilities salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

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

Occupation 43-5041 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