Side-by-side distribution
California
$155,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 73.5%
- Live roles
- 13,968
Chicago
$134,400
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 67.8%
- Live roles
- 4,565
Highest-paying jobs
Wholesale Account Executive, National
Senior Product Sourcing Engineer, Autonomous Airpower
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Account Director - Growth Marketing (Paid Social)
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Strategic Account Executive - San Francisco (Remote)
Create Your Own Role
Business Development Manager
Field Applications Engineer
Strategic Account Executive - Southern California (Remote)
Highest-paying jobs
Regional Health Market Leader - Great Lakes Region
Sales Leader, Quality Engineering Services
Outside Sales Representative
Account Manager
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Senior Account Executive, Emerging Enterprise
Account Executive, Enterprise
Account Executive, Enterprise
Account Executive, Enterprise
Senior Account Executive, Emerging Enterprise
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 1,236 |
Databricks
|
$216,104 | 282 |
Relativity Space
|
$165,000 | 232 |
NoGigiddy
|
$43,680 | 200 |
Cheer Home Care
|
$44,720 | 178 |
Revolution Medicines
|
$209,500 | 169 |
Archer
|
$171,100 | 153 |
ALO
|
$79,588 | 144 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
DoorDash USA
|
$130,200 | 107 |
Okta
|
$213,875 | 74 |
|
Braze
|
$143,000 | 74 |
| DR DRW | $187,500 | 57 |
IMC
|
$212,500 | 48 |
Insomniacookies
|
$35,412 | 42 |
Optiver
|
$200,000 | 39 |
Charles River Associates
|
$141,250 | 39 |
Highest-paying roles in California
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| DevOps | $185,788 | 240 |
| Software Engineer | $185,750 | 2,515 |
| Recruiter | $181,600 | 1,008 |
| Data Scientist | $177,500 | 167 |
| Product Manager | $170,000 | 1,566 |
| Customer Success | $168,875 | 1,940 |
| UX Designer | $168,475 | 34 |
| Sales | $150,000 | 2,082 |
| Project Manager | $147,500 | 938 |
| Marketing Manager | $137,500 | 682 |
Highest-paying roles in Chicago
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $170,000 | 380 |
| Data Scientist | $163,000 | 32 |
| DevOps | $160,000 | 97 |
| UX Designer | $158,750 | 20 |
| Customer Success | $143,500 | 798 |
| Financial Analyst | $141,250 | 200 |
| Product Manager | $140,178 | 614 |
| Recruiter | $136,615 | 402 |
| Sales | $135,000 | 1,117 |
| Data Analyst | $125,000 | 264 |
California vs Chicago: which pays more?
The median for California is $155,000 per year (typically $100,000–$200,000), versus $134,400 for Chicago ($90,000–$180,000). That puts California about 15% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so California and Chicago 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.