Chicago Engineering Talent Maps (2026)

Pay, employers, submarkets and hiring advice for engineers in metro Chicago, one discipline at a time.

Chicago’s engineering market is built around one of the largest manufacturing bases in the US, ComEd and the data center cluster in the western suburbs, Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, Fermilab, the O’Hare rebuild and the CTA Red Line Extension. Each map below covers what engineers in one discipline earn, who employs them, where in the metro they work and what is competing for them. See our Chicago engineering recruiters.

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

33 GWPower requested from ComEd by about 100 proposed data centersChicago Sun-Times, 2026

$8.78BORDNext rebuild of O’Hare, with Concourse D due in late 2028City of Chicago

Chicago talent maps by discipline

Data center engineers

$113,520median electrical engineer pay in metro Chicago

Elk Grove Village’s cluster, gigawatt campuses and ComEd’s power queue.

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Electrical engineers

$113,520median pay in metro Chicago

ComEd’s data center queue, its grid plan and substation hiring.

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Mechanical engineers

$102,070median pay in metro Chicago

Ford, Fermilab, Hyundai Translead’s Joliet plants and power engineering firms.

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Civil engineers

$100,160median pay in metro Chicago

The Red Line Extension, O’Hare and a record IDOT program.

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Structural engineers

$126,570the 75th percentile for civil and structural engineers

Illinois’s separate SE license and posted pay ranges.

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Controls engineers

$113,520median electrical engineer pay, the main code for controls engineers

ComEd relay and SCADA roles, Fermilab controls and posted pay.

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Aerospace engineers

$134,510median pay in metro Chicago

Northrop Grumman, AAR and the Rockford controls cluster.

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Industrial and manufacturing engineers

$101,760median industrial engineer pay in metro Chicago

AbbVie, Hyundai Translead, Ford and Belvidere’s reopening.

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Architects

$81,790median pay in metro Chicago

Large firms, aviation work and the stadium plans.

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CAD designers and drafters

$72,540median pay for mechanical drafters in Chicago

Posted pay ranges, the software in demand and O’Hare, Red Line and water work.

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More Chicago research

Hiring engineers in Chicago?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place engineering, IT and supply chain talent across metro Chicago on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 847.994.3030 or see our Chicago engineering recruiters page.

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