Side-by-side distribution
Chicago
$135,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 67.9%
- Live roles
- 4,537
Colorado
$117,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 69.3%
- Live roles
- 2,372
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
Director / VP Sales
Senior Account Executive, Emerging Enterprise
Senior Account Executive, Emerging Enterprise
Strategic Account Executive - Chicago (Remote)
Licensed Mental Health Therapist- Illinois
Highest-paying jobs
Executive Operations & Advancement Associate at Hillel of Colorado
Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) – Private Equity Principal
Psychiatrist (MD / DO)
Principal/Partner - Forensic Accounting & Litigation Support
Anesthesiologist
Psychiatrist Medical Director
Staff Physical Design Engineer
Physical Design Engineer - STA
Physical Design Engineer
Full-Chip Physical Design Verification Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
DoorDash USA
|
$130,200 | 106 |
Okta
|
$213,750 | 75 |
|
Braze
|
$140,000 | 69 |
| DR DRW | $177,500 | 57 |
IMC
|
$212,500 | 48 |
Insomniacookies
|
$35,412 | 42 |
Charles River Associates
|
$141,250 | 40 |
Optiver
|
$200,000 | 39 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Serenity Mental Health Centers
|
$73,840 | 99 |
NoGigiddy
|
$42,640 | 88 |
Anduril Industries
|
$167,000 | 65 |
Amazing Care Home Health Services
|
$50,960 | 55 |
Datadog
|
$144,500 | 37 |
Woven Care
|
$75,452 | 30 |
Fivetran
|
$176,942 | 28 |
SciTec
|
$135,250 | 28 |
Highest-paying roles in Chicago
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $170,000 | 375 |
| Data Scientist | $163,000 | 30 |
| DevOps | $161,250 | 96 |
| UX Designer | $155,000 | 19 |
| Customer Success | $143,990 | 788 |
| Product Manager | $142,500 | 605 |
| Financial Analyst | $141,250 | 201 |
| Sales | $137,125 | 1,110 |
| Recruiter | $133,700 | 406 |
| Marketing Manager | $129,000 | 423 |
Highest-paying roles in Colorado
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $191,500 | 12 |
| Recruiter | $156,216 | 73 |
| Software Engineer | $150,000 | 275 |
| UX Designer | $145,000 | 3 |
| DevOps | $145,000 | 51 |
| Customer Success | $139,250 | 328 |
| Product Manager | $135,000 | 212 |
| Project Manager | $118,000 | 157 |
| Marketing Manager | $113,500 | 140 |
| Sales | $110,350 | 422 |
Chicago vs Colorado: which pays more?
The median for Chicago is $135,000 per year (typically $90,000–$180,000), versus $117,500 for Colorado ($73,840–$165,000). That puts Chicago about 15% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Chicago and Colorado 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.