DOL wage area 16980 · Illinois

H-1B prevailing wages in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Covers Cook County, IL; DeKalb County, IL; DuPage County, IL; Grundy County, IL; Kane County, IL; Kendall County, IL; Lake County, IL; McHenry County, IL; Will County, IL; Jasper County, IN; Lake County, IN; Newton County, IN; Porter County, IN.

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What are the H-1B prevailing wages in Chicago, IL?

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is DOL wage area 16980, covering 13 counties (Cook County, IL; DeKalb County, IL; DuPage County, IL and others). For the 2026–27 wage year, Software Developers need $165,693 for Level IV and $92,789 for Level I; Computer Systems Analysts need $124,863 for Level IV and $71,532 for Level I; Data Scientists need $139,818 for Level IV and $76,336 for Level I. Under the weighted H-1B lottery, each wage level adds one entry, from one at Level I to four at Level IV, and DHS projects selection odds of about 15%, 31%, 46% and 61%. All of these wages come from local survey data. The table below covers the 50 occupations most filed for H-1B; any other job can be checked with the calculator.

Top H-1B occupations

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50 occupations

Occupation	Level I	Level II	Level III	Level IV
Software Developers15-1252	92,789	117,084	141,399	165,693
Computer Systems Analysts15-1211	71,532	89,316	107,079	124,863
Data Scientists15-2051	76,336	97,490	118,664	139,818
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers15-1253	74,381	91,749	109,138	126,506
Computer Occupations, All Other15-1299	60,528	84,781	109,013	133,266
Information Security Analysts15-1212	84,864	106,808	128,732	150,676
Database Administrators15-1242	66,831	88,900	110,989	133,058
Database Architects15-1243	102,919	124,384	145,871	167,336
Network and Computer Systems Administrators15-1244	74,132	91,416	108,701	125,986
Computer Network Architects15-1241	103,002	124,634	146,266	167,898
Computer and Information Research Scientists15-1221	75,608	109,388	143,146	176,925
Web Developers15-1254	72,925	87,298	101,650	116,023
Web and Digital Interface Designers15-1255	62,754	82,056	101,359	120,661
Computer Programmers15-1251	63,045	83,096	103,127	123,178
Computer Network Support Specialists15-1231	53,186	65,520	77,834	90,168
Computer User Support Specialists15-1232	43,743	54,642	65,541	76,440
Operations Research Analysts15-2031	66,893	83,221	99,549	115,877
Statisticians15-2041	88,359	106,184	124,010	141,836
Actuaries15-2011	81,578	105,415	129,272	153,109
Computer and Information Systems Managers11-3021	124,842	154,690	184,517	214,365
Marketing Managers11-2021	106,434	139,568	172,682	205,816
Sales Managers11-2022	92,935	131,290	169,666	208,021
Financial Managers11-3031	113,568	152,152	190,716	229,300
Architectural and Engineering Managers11-9041	121,098	146,058	170,997	195,957
Natural Sciences Managers11-9121	102,752	138,570	174,408	210,226
Medical and Health Services Managers11-9111	83,575	112,653	141,732	170,810
Accountants and Auditors13-2011	62,920	77,376	91,853	106,309
Financial and Investment Analysts13-2051	72,072	92,269	112,487	132,684
Financial Risk Specialists13-2054	72,592	97,740	122,866	148,013
Management Analysts13-1111	67,476	91,916	116,335	140,775
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists13-1161	54,309	72,239	90,148	108,077
Logisticians13-1081	54,330	69,327	84,324	99,320
Business Operations Specialists, All Other13-1199	52,749	71,740	90,709	109,700
Computer Hardware Engineers17-2061	82,805	110,906	139,028	167,128
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer17-2072	92,623	113,818	135,034	156,229
Electrical Engineers17-2071	81,412	99,716	118,040	136,344
Mechanical Engineers17-2141	74,298	91,853	109,388	126,943
Industrial Engineers17-2112	75,421	91,146	106,892	122,616
Civil Engineers17-2051	73,424	89,898	106,372	122,845
Engineers, All Other17-2199	70,325	94,536	118,748	142,959
Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers17-2031	58,511	79,560	100,589	121,639
Chemical Engineers17-2041	80,725	100,880	121,036	141,191
Aerospace Engineers17-2011	94,724	117,146	139,589	162,012
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists19-1042	62,837	78,458	94,079	109,700
Biological Scientists, All Other19-1029	61,901	77,896	93,871	109,866
Chemists19-2031	65,604	82,951	100,277	117,624
Pharmacists29-1051	101,400	119,829	138,237	156,666
Physical Therapists29-1123	88,400	99,383	110,344	121,327
Lawyers23-1011	95,535	141,253	186,972	232,690
Graphic Designers27-1024	46,218	58,781	71,344	83,908

Annual salary in U.S. dollars, rounded up. Source: DOL OFLC prevailing wage data, effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027, computed directly from the DOL file (methodology). Page updated 2026-10-14.

Learn more: How to legitimately raise your wage level · How the weighted lottery works