Talent Maps / Chicago / Structural Engineers

Chicago Structural Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What structural engineers earn in Chicago, how Illinois licenses them, which structural firms employ them and the airport, stadium, casino and transit projects competing for them.

Hiring structural 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 structural engineers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts structural engineers as civil engineers, so we pair its May 2025 wage data with real pay ranges from Chicago job postings in 2026. Our civil and structural engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Chicago civil, architect and CAD designer talent maps.

$100,160Median pay for civil engineers, the BLS group that includes structural engineers, in ChicagoBLS, May 2025

$126,570The 75th percentile, where licensed structural engineers usually sitBLS, May 2025

2Separate licenses Illinois issues for structural engineers (SE) and professional engineers (PE)IDFPR

$1.3BO’Hare Concourse D, a 19-gate building due in late 2028Urbanize Chicago, 2026

$750MChicago Fire stadium at The 78, under construction since March 2026Chicago Fire FC

1956The year WJE, now headquartered in Northbrook, was foundedWJE

Structural engineer salaries in Chicago

BLS does not publish a separate figure for structural engineers. The civil engineer figures below include them. Chicago’s median of $100,160 is close to the national median of $100,840, and licensed structural engineers with building, bridge or industrial experience usually earn at or above the 75th percentile ($126,570).

Annual pay percentile	Chicago metro	Illinois	United States
10th percentile	$74,130	$69,590	$68,240
25th percentile	$80,020	$79,650	$79,930
Median	$100,160	$99,760	$100,840
75th percentile	$126,570	$125,990	$129,680
90th percentile	$159,940	$157,410	$163,220

Civil Engineers (SOC 17-2051), which includes structural engineers. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine.

What Chicago structural jobs are posting in 2026

Role	Level	Posted base pay
Arup, Graduate Structural Engineer (available 2027)	Entry level	$73,500 to $80,500
CTLGroup, Structural Forensic Engineer, PE (Mount Prospect)	8+ years	$100,000 to $200,000
Black & Veatch, Senior Overhead Transmission Line Structural Engineer	11+ years	$148,852 to $248,578

Pay ranges provided by the employer on Chicago-area postings live in October 2026. Arup’s range is its Chicago range and Black & Veatch’s is its Illinois range. Illinois has required pay ranges in job postings since January 1, 2025.

How Illinois licenses structural engineers

IDFPR calls Illinois ‘somewhat unique’ because a separate act governs structural engineering. It licenses Structural Engineers (SE) and Professional Engineers (PE) separately, and a PE in Illinois cannot offer or perform structural services. That covers bridges, columns, girders, foundations, wind and seismic load calculations, retaining walls of any height, towers and trusses. An initial SE license requires passing the FE exam and the multi-day PE Structural (SE) exam. Engineers licensed elsewhere who passed only the 8-hour PE Civil/Structural exam do not meet the requirement. A design firm offering structural work in Illinois must name a licensed SE as its managing agent.

Where Chicago’s structural engineers work

Chicago-area structural and forensic firms

WJE, founded in 1956, is headquartered in Northbrook, with a 70,000 square foot testing and research facility there. Klein & Hoffman has worked for building owners and architects on high-rises, campuses and landmarks such as the Shedd Aquarium since 1953.

Forefront Structural Engineers, founded in 2007, engineered the Salt Shed conversion and parts of the North Union development on the Near North Side. CTLGroup in Mount Prospect does structural forensics and materials testing.

Multi-discipline and national firms

SOM, a Chicago-based firm founded in 1936 by two architects and an engineer, leads the Concourse D design, with Rubinos & Mesia Engineers on the team. Thornton Tomasetti’s Chicago office is at 600 W. Fulton Street.

Benesch’s Illinois division manager is a licensed PE and SE, and Christopher B. Burke Engineering lists licensed structural engineers on its staff.

Who is posting jobs

Arup, CTLGroup and Black & Veatch all posted Chicago-area structural roles with pay in 2026.

AECOM’s Chicago Buildings + Places team includes structural engineering, with recent work on CTA station upgrades.

Power and industrial

Sargent & Lundy, headquartered on Wacker Drive, works on power plants, substations and grid projects. Black & Veatch’s Chicago transmission role covers 345kV and larger lines. See our top data center markets page for the data center side.

Where the talent sits: Chicago submarkets

The Loop, River North and Fulton Market

Design firmsHigh-rise

Thornton Tomasetti on W. Fulton Street, the North Union development on the Near North Side and Bally’s casino tower in River West.

O’Hare

Aviation

Concourse D’s tree-like columns support a 150-foot-wide long-span roof and cut the number of interior columns by nearly half.

North Shore

ForensicsVenues

WJE’s Northbrook headquarters, and the 35,000-seat Ryan Field in Evanston, where Thornton Tomasetti was structural engineer.

South Loop

Venues

The Chicago Fire’s 22,000-seat stadium at The 78, designed by Gensler.

South Side

TransitResearch

Red Line Extension stations and rail yard, and the quantum computing park at the former South Works site.

What’s driving demand for structural engineers in Chicago

O’Hare. Steel is rising on the $1.3 billion, 19-gate Concourse D, due in late 2028. Concourse E’s first phase starts later in 2026, and the Global Terminal follows from 2029 to 2033.
Bally’s casino. The final structural beam went in on April 30, 2026. Bally’s paused the hotel, events center and restaurants in August 2026 but says the casino opens in early 2027.
Chicago Fire stadium. The $750 million, 22,000-seat stadium broke ground on March 3, 2026, and is due to open ahead of the 2028 MLS season. Pepper Construction, GMA Construction Group and All Construction Group are building it.
Red Line Extension. The $5.75 billion project includes four new stations and a rail yard, with track and station construction running through 2029.
Bears stadium. Still undecided between Hammond, Indiana, and Arlington Heights as of October 2026. The team has said it would borrow at least $2 billion for an enclosed stadium.
Recent finishes. Ryan Field opened on October 2, 2026, and the Obama Presidential Center opened to the public on June 19, 2026.

The talent pipeline

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Its civil engineering graduate program, the usual route into structural work, is ranked No. 1 by U.S. News.
Illinois Tech. Illinois Tech offers ABET-accredited BS programs in both civil and architectural engineering.
Northwestern and UIC. Both offer ABET-accredited civil engineering BS degrees.
Licensing basics. Read our guide to PE vs EIT vs no license.
Licensing. Senior structural engineers in Illinois need an SE license from IDFPR. A PE license alone does not allow structural design.

What this means if you’re hiring

Ask for the SE license. Engineers licensed elsewhere with only the 8-hour structural exam cannot get an Illinois SE license by endorsement.
Buildings, bridges and transmission are different markets. A strong high-rise engineer and a strong transmission line engineer rarely swap. Be specific about the project type.
Price licensed engineers above the civil median. Plan on the 75th percentile ($126,570) or more. Posted senior roles reach $200,000 and above.
Your range will be public. Illinois postings must show pay, so candidates can compare your offer with every other firm’s.

Need structural engineers in Chicago?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place structural, civil and bridge engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 847.994.3030 or see our Chicago engineering recruiters page.

Hire structural engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do structural engineers make in Chicago?

BLS groups structural engineers with civil engineers, whose Chicago median is $100,160. Posted Chicago-area structural roles in 2026 ranged from $73,500 at entry level to $248,578 for a senior transmission engineer.

Do structural engineers in Chicago earn more than the national median?

About the same. The BLS civil engineer median, which includes structural engineers, is $100,160 in Chicago and $100,840 nationally. Chicago is higher than Dallas-Fort Worth ($96,920) and Atlanta ($88,000). See our Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta structural engineer talent maps.

Do structural engineers need an SE license in Illinois?

Yes. Illinois licenses structural engineers separately, and only a licensed SE can perform structural services in the state. The license requires the FE exam and the multi-day PE Structural (SE) exam.

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