Side-by-side distribution
Chicago
$135,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 67.9%
- Live roles
- 4,537
Washington
$149,675
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 69.4%
- Live roles
- 5,932
Highest-paying jobs
Regional Health Market Leader - Great Lakes Region
Sales Leader, Quality Engineering Services
Account Manager
Outside Sales Representative
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
Project Coordinator 1
Director of Development
Account Executive
SVP, Public Affairs
Managing Director, Digital Strategy
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Vice President of Enterprise Sales, East
Psychiatrist (MD / DO)
VP, Sales - GovTech (CLEAR1 - B2B)
Area Vice President, Strategic Sales
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
DoorDash USA
|
$130,200 | 107 |
|
Okta
|
$213,750 | 75 |
|
Braze
|
$140,000 | 69 |
| DR DRW | $177,500 | 57 |
IMC
|
$212,500 | 48 |
Insomniacookies
|
$35,412 | 42 |
Real Chemistry
|
$123,750 | 40 |
Optiver
|
$200,000 | 39 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 265 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$146,650 | 248 |
Esri
|
$129,740 | 183 |
| AX Axon | $191,978 | 95 |
Databricks
|
$214,700 | 92 |
|
Okta
|
$214,000 | 85 |
NoGigiddy
|
$43,680 | 70 |
Palantir
|
$140,000 | 62 |
Highest-paying roles in Chicago
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $170,000 | 377 |
| Data Scientist | $163,000 | 30 |
| DevOps | $160,000 | 97 |
| UX Designer | $158,750 | 20 |
| Customer Success | $145,000 | 793 |
| Product Manager | $142,500 | 609 |
| Financial Analyst | $141,250 | 200 |
| Sales | $136,000 | 1,119 |
| Recruiter | $132,900 | 410 |
| Marketing Manager | $129,000 | 425 |
Highest-paying roles in Washington
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $180,000 | 43 |
| Software Engineer | $177,500 | 786 |
| UX Designer | $170,500 | 25 |
| Product Manager | $164,692 | 625 |
| Customer Success | $156,213 | 1,018 |
| Recruiter | $152,400 | 564 |
| DevOps | $150,900 | 192 |
| Sales | $150,000 | 1,059 |
| Nurse | $148,950 | 68 |
| Project Manager | $140,000 | 374 |
Chicago vs Washington: which pays more?
The median for Chicago is $135,000 per year (typically $90,000–$180,000), versus $149,675 for Washington ($102,500–$193,000). That puts Washington about 11% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Chicago and Washington 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.