Side-by-side distribution
Boston
$150,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 68.6%
- Live roles
- 3,975
Illinois
$105,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 57.9%
- Live roles
- 3,162
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Manager, Search Marketing
Sr. Business Development Leader - S&T Market
Enterprise Account Executive
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Senior Account Executive, Start-ups (NYC OR Boston)
Senior Account Executive, Startups(NYC OR Boston)
Strategic Account Executive - Boston (Remote)
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Pre-training
VP, Namer Strategic Sales
Head of GovTech Sales
Highest-paying jobs
Sales Leader, Quality Engineering Services
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Director / VP Sales
Electronics Engineering Technician
Strategic Account Executive - Chicago (Remote)
Psychiatrist (MD / DO)
Preschool Teacher / Lead Teacher
Employment Law Attorney
Dentist
Psych Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP, Psych APRN)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Whoop
|
$163,750 | 140 |
Klaviyo
|
$177,000 | 108 |
Motional
|
$200,500 | 73 |
| AX Axon | $183,300 | 68 |
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 64 |
InterSystems
|
$137,500 | 59 |
Datadog
|
$166,000 | 57 |
DIG INN Chefs-In-Training
|
$35,360 | 54 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Gotion, Inc.
|
$100,000 | 87 |
Okta
|
$214,000 | 70 |
The Symicor Group
|
$100,000 | 49 |
Real Chemistry
|
$127,500 | 36 |
NoGigiddy
|
$43,680 | 36 |
Optiver
|
$200,000 | 34 |
Tricoci University
|
$44,720 | 34 |
Metropolis
|
$112,500 | 30 |
Highest-paying roles in Boston
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $182,500 | 596 |
| DevOps | $172,500 | 125 |
| Data Scientist | $171,150 | 108 |
| UX Designer | $168,000 | 22 |
| Recruiter | $168,000 | 474 |
| Product Manager | $160,992 | 599 |
| Customer Success | $160,438 | 844 |
| Sales | $150,000 | 969 |
| Project Manager | $141,250 | 293 |
| Marketing Manager | $136,750 | 315 |
Highest-paying roles in Illinois
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| UX Designer | $167,250 | 4 |
| DevOps | $161,000 | 49 |
| Software Engineer | $152,125 | 126 |
| Sales | $131,500 | 561 |
| Data Scientist | $131,250 | 6 |
| Customer Success | $130,650 | 381 |
| Product Manager | $126,750 | 288 |
| Marketing Manager | $119,750 | 200 |
| Project Manager | $115,000 | 186 |
| Recruiter | $110,250 | 225 |
Boston vs Illinois: which pays more?
The median for Boston is $150,000 per year (typically $107,000–$193,050), versus $105,000 for Illinois ($67,500–$160,000). That puts Boston about 43% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Boston and Illinois are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.