How much do construction equipment operators make in Chicago, IL in 2026?
Real pay data from real trades workers. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 · Updated June 2026.
$103,100/yr
Median (50th percentile)
Half of Chicago, IL construction equipment operators earn between $78,580 and $117,350 per year.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025
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Construction Equipment Operator pay in Chicago, IL vs Illinois
The median construction equipment operator wage in Chicago, IL is $103,100/yr (BLS OEWS May 2025). The Illinois statewide median is $97,740/yr (BLS OEWS May 2025) — so this metro runs about $5,360/yr above the state figure. See the full Illinois page →
- 7,930 construction equipment operators employed in this metro (BLS May 2025).
- Job concentration: 0.57× the national average for this trade (less concentrated here).
About this data
Metro wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS metropolitan program (May 2025) — the authoritative public source for occupational pay, reported here for the Chicago, IL metro area. We don't hold union scales or member submissions at metro level yet, so this page shows BLS metro data only; each figure is labeled with its source.
Sources
- Wage data: BLS OEWS — Illinois
- How we build these numbers →
- Next data refresh: when BLS publishes its next annual OEWS release (typically the following spring).
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