Side-by-side distribution
Chicago
$134,400
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 67.8%
- Live roles
- 4,565
Colorado
$117,520
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 69.1%
- Live roles
- 2,375
Highest-paying jobs
Sales Leader, Quality Engineering Services
Regional Health Market Leader - Great Lakes Region
Outside Sales Representative
Account Manager
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Account Executive, Enterprise
Senior Account Executive, Emerging Enterprise
Senior Account Executive, Emerging Enterprise
Account Executive, Enterprise
Account Executive, Enterprise
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
Staff Physical Design Engineer
Physical Design Engineer
Staff Technical Program Manager, Physical Design
Full-Chip Physical Design Verification Engineer
Interventional Psychiatrist
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
DoorDash USA
|
$130,200 | 109 |
Okta
|
$213,625 | 76 |
|
Braze
|
$142,500 | 75 |
| DR DRW | $182,500 | 58 |
IMC
|
$212,500 | 48 |
Insomniacookies
|
$35,412 | 42 |
Optiver
|
$200,000 | 39 |
Charles River Associates
|
$141,250 | 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
|
$141,000 | 38 |
Fivetran
|
$180,317 | 33 |
Woven Care
|
$75,452 | 30 |
Experience Senior Living
|
$42,640 | 29 |
Highest-paying roles in Chicago
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $170,000 | 378 |
| Data Scientist | $163,000 | 32 |
| DevOps | $160,000 | 98 |
| UX Designer | $158,750 | 20 |
| Customer Success | $143,500 | 797 |
| Financial Analyst | $141,250 | 200 |
| Product Manager | $140,156 | 617 |
| Sales | $135,000 | 1,117 |
| Recruiter | $134,400 | 406 |
| Marketing Manager | $126,125 | 430 |
Highest-paying roles in Colorado
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $191,500 | 12 |
| Recruiter | $159,404 | 76 |
| Software Engineer | $150,750 | 279 |
| UX Designer | $145,000 | 3 |
| DevOps | $145,000 | 55 |
| Product Manager | $140,000 | 221 |
| Customer Success | $139,250 | 330 |
| Project Manager | $120,000 | 161 |
| Sales | $115,080 | 425 |
| Marketing Manager | $115,000 | 139 |
Chicago vs Colorado: which pays more?
The median for Chicago is $134,400 per year (typically $90,000–$180,000), versus $117,520 for Colorado ($74,505–$165,000). That puts Chicago about 14% 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.