Talent Maps / Chicago / Mechanical Engineers

Chicago Mechanical Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What mechanical engineers earn in Chicago, the vehicle plants, research labs and engineering firms that hold the talent, where in the metro they work and the projects competing for them.

Hiring mechanical engineers in Chicago?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers mechanical engineers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, home to Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, Fermilab and a large group of power and building engineering firms. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses company, BLS and state data published in 2025 and 2026. Our mechanical engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Chicago industrial and manufacturing, electrical and controls talent maps.

$102,070Median mechanical engineer pay in Chicago, close to the US medianBLS, May 2025

$157,720+What the top 10% of Chicago mechanical engineers earnBLS, May 2025

4,607Employees at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, which builds the Explorer and Lincoln AviatorFord, June 2026

2,475Jobs planned at Hyundai Translead’s two Joliet trailer plantsThe Herald-News, April 2026

410,300Manufacturing jobs in metro ChicagoBLS, August 2026 (preliminary)

600Projected mechanical engineering job openings a year in Illinois through 2034Projections Central

Mechanical engineer salaries in Chicago

The median mechanical engineer in metro Chicago earns $102,070 a year, $2,040 less than the national median of $104,110 and $610 less than the Illinois median of $102,680. Chicago pay sits slightly below the national figures at every level: the top 10% earn $157,720 or more, about $6,600 below the national figure, and entry pay is about $7,100 lower.

Annual pay percentile	Chicago metro	Illinois	United States
10th percentile	$66,900	$72,150	$73,990
25th percentile	$83,140	$83,800	$84,130
Median	$102,070	$102,680	$104,110
75th percentile	$130,310	$130,730	$132,590
90th percentile	$157,720	$160,160	$164,340

Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

BLS publishes no Chicago estimate for mechanical engineering technicians. The Illinois median is $77,020, against $74,510 nationally. BLS also publishes no Chicago or Illinois figure for petroleum engineers, so we do not show one. Compare Atlanta in our Atlanta mechanical engineer talent map, where the median is $102,020.

Where Chicago’s mechanical engineers work

Vehicles and trucks

Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant on Torrence Avenue opened in 1924 and has about 4,607 employees building the Explorer, Police Interceptor Utility and Lincoln Aviator. Ford’s Chicago Stamping Plant has about 1,091 more.

International, the truck maker formerly known as Navistar, has had its headquarters in Lisle since 2011.

Research labs

Fermilab, the Department of Energy’s particle physics and accelerator lab, has 2,160 staff on a 6,800-acre site in Batavia.

Argonne National Laboratory, managed by UChicago Argonne for the Department of Energy, is the region’s other national lab.

Power and building engineering

Sargent & Lundy, headquartered in Chicago, engineers nuclear, conventional and renewable power, grid infrastructure and data center projects.

dbHMS, based in downtown Chicago, designs MEP, fire protection and IT systems for buildings and runs commissioning, including HVAC testing.

New plants and consumer products

Hyundai Translead is converting the former Lion Electric and Caterpillar plants in Joliet, 2.4 million square feet in all, to build dry and refrigerated semi-trailers, with production planned for 2027.

Candy maker Ferrara has more than 8,300 team members and opened a $100 million manufacturing plant near Chicago.

Where the talent sits: Chicago submarkets

Southeast Side

AutomotiveQuantum

Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant on Torrence Avenue and the quantum park under construction on the former U.S. Steel South Works site.

I-88 corridor: Lisle to Batavia

ResearchTrucks

International’s Lisle headquarters and Fermilab’s 6,800-acre Batavia campus.

Joliet and Will County

Manufacturing

Hyundai Translead’s two trailer plants on the former Lion Electric and Caterpillar sites.

Downtown Chicago

ConsultingMEP

dbHMS’s downtown office and Sargent & Lundy’s Chicago headquarters.

University towns

Universities

UIC and Illinois Tech in the city, Northwestern in Evanston and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

What’s driving demand for mechanical engineers in Chicago

Hyundai Translead. The company plans 2,475 jobs at two Joliet plants, with hiring spread over three years and production planned for 2027. Joliet approved a property tax break for the Youngs Road plant in April 2026.
Quantum park. The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park is under construction on the 128-acre former U.S. Steel South Works site, with PsiQuantum as anchor tenant and $500 million in state funding.
Data centers. About 100 proposed data center projects in northern Illinois have asked ComEd for a combined 33 GW of power, more than its record peak of 24,000 MW. These projects need cooling and mechanical system designers.
A steady base. Metro Chicago had about 410,300 manufacturing jobs in August 2026, up 0.8% from a year earlier.

The talent pipeline

UIC. Its mechanical and industrial engineering department offers ABET-accredited bachelor’s degrees in mechanical and industrial engineering, plus a master’s in energy engineering.
Illinois Tech. Its mechanical, materials and aerospace engineering department offers ABET-accredited degrees.
Northwestern University. Its BS in mechanical engineering in Evanston is ABET accredited, and it offers master’s programs in advanced manufacturing and robotics.
Northern Illinois University. NIU in DeKalb offers BS, MS and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering.
Growth. Illinois is projected to grow from 10,440 mechanical engineers in 2024 to 11,020 in 2034, with about 600 openings a year.
Licensing. Professional engineers are licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which moved new applications to its CORE online system in October 2024. Read more in our guide to PE and EIT licensing.

What this means if you’re hiring

Chicago pays slightly below the US median. Pay is close to the Illinois median at every level. Plan on the 75th percentile ($130,310) for experienced engineers.
Post a real pay range. Since January 1, 2025, Illinois employers with 15 or more employees must list the pay scale and benefits in job postings, so candidates can compare offers side by side.
Plants are adding jobs. Hyundai Translead’s Joliet hiring and Ford’s Chicago plants will compete for plant and equipment engineers.
Recruit from several schools. UIC, Illinois Tech, Northwestern and NIU all graduate mechanical engineers inside the metro, so internships and campus relationships matter.

Need mechanical engineers in Chicago?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place mechanical, equipment, manufacturing and design engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 847.994.3030 or see our Chicago engineering recruiters page.

Hire mechanical engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do mechanical engineers make in Chicago?

The median mechanical engineer salary in metro Chicago is $102,070 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $83,140 and $130,310, and the top 10% earn $157,720 or more.

Do mechanical engineers earn more in Chicago or Dallas-Fort Worth?

Dallas-Fort Worth pays slightly more. Chicago’s median is $102,070, about $3,350 below Dallas-Fort Worth’s $105,420 and $2,040 below the national median of $104,110. See our Dallas-Fort Worth mechanical engineer talent map.

Who hires mechanical engineers in Chicago?

Ford, International, Hyundai Translead, Fermilab, Argonne National Laboratory, Sargent & Lundy, dbHMS and Ferrara.

Sources (26)