Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
$316,610avg. a year
Annual salary · 6,360 employed
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area earn an average of $316,610 a year. That is about the same as the Illinois average of $316,140. The U.S. average is $288,650.
$293,490Median pay
$316,610Average yearly
+0%vs. Illinois average
6,360Jobs in this metro
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
How Chicago-Naperville-Elgin compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroIllinoisU.S.
Related jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| Flight Attendants | $72,870 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | $43,140 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | $40,700 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | $65,170 |
| Light Truck Drivers | $54,780 |
| Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators | $49,980 |
Questions and answers
How much do airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers make in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
The average is $316,610 a year, and the median is $293,490. About 6,360 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the Illinois average?
That is about the same as the Illinois average of $316,140.
Is this job common in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
It makes up 1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 2.11 times the national share.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, occupation code 53-2011. Metro area: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 16980). Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.