When you look at the Chicago skyline, you aren't just seeing steel and glass. You’re seeing the work of nearly 35,000 people who keep the lights on, the water flowing, and the streets safe. But if you’ve ever scrolled through the public data portal or heard a neighbor complain about property taxes, you know the conversation eventually turns to one thing: salaries for city of chicago employees. It’s a massive, complex machine of taxpayer money, union contracts, and sometimes, eye-popping overtime.
Most people think they know what a city worker makes. They see a flat number in a database and think, "Okay, that's it." But honestly, the "base salary" is often just the opening act. Between longevity pay, duty availability allowances, and the kind of overtime that would make a corporate lawyer dizzy, the reality of a city paycheck is rarely what’s printed on the job posting.
The Truth About the Six-Figure Club
You’ve probably seen the headlines about a random police officer or a fire deputy making $400,000 a year. Those aren't typical. Basically, those outliers usually happen because of massive back-pay settlements or "cashing out" decades of unused sick time and compensatory leave right before retirement.
For instance, back in 2021, a police officer famously cleared nearly $481,000, but his base was only about a third of that. The rest? Overtime and specialized payouts. In the 2025 budget cycles, we're seeing similar trends where the highest-paid individuals are often in the Fire Department or Police Department, driven by staffing shortages that force current employees to work double or triple shifts.
Salaries for City of Chicago Employees: The Breakdown
If you're looking for the meat and potatoes of the city payroll, you have to look at the rank and file. It isn't all six-figure windfalls.
- Police Officers: Under the current contracts, a starting officer might start in the high $50k or low $60k range, but that moves fast. By 2025, many veteran officers are seeing base salaries in the $90,000 to $110,000 range.
- The Trades: Chicago is a union town. Plumbers, electricians, and bridge operators working for the city often make "prevailing wage." This means a city plumber might make $50 or $60 an hour—often more than their supervisors—because their pay is tied to private-sector union rates.
- Administrative and Clerical: This is where the gap is felt. Many city clerks or library assistants are still hovering in the $45,000 to $55,000 range. It’s a stark contrast to the public safety side.
The Aldermanic Pay Raise Drama
Politics in Chicago is never quiet. As of January 1, 2026, city ordinances allow for automatic salary increases for aldermen based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Unless they explicitly opt out—which some do for the optics—an alderman’s salary is now pushing past $152,000.
Meanwhile, Mayor Brandon Johnson currently draws a salary of $221,052. He’s notably declined some of the automatic raises recently, but the City Clerk and Treasurer have often accepted theirs, bringing them to around $171,000. It's a lot of money, sure, but in the world of big-city politics, Chicago’s executive pay is actually somewhat comparable to places like New York or LA.
The "Hidden" Costs: Pensions and Benefits
You can’t talk about salaries for city of chicago employees without talking about the pension elephant in the room. Chicago’s pension funds are, to put it mildly, in a rough spot. They are currently underfunded by billions.
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For the average employee, this means they are contributing a significant chunk of every paycheck—often around 8.5% to 9%—into a system they hope will be there when they’re 65. The city, for its part, is pouring nearly 80% of your property tax dollars into these funds just to keep them afloat.
Then there's the healthcare. Most city workers have what many would consider "gold-plated" insurance. While premiums have gone up recently, the out-of-pocket costs remain significantly lower than what you’d find in the private sector. For many, that's the real reason they stay in the job for 30 years despite the stress.
Why the Database Might Lie to You
If you’ve ever searched the City of Chicago’s salary database and seen a staff assistant making $250,000, don't lose your mind just yet. These databases are often "snapshots."
Sometimes, a temporary pay increase is applied for a specific project, or an employee receives a one-time bonus or a retroactive payment from a contract that took three years to negotiate. The system often displays these as an "annualized" rate. It’s like if you got a $1,000 bonus this week and the computer assumed you get that every single week of the year. It makes the numbers look way higher than the actual W-2 at the end of December.
What to Know if You’re Applying
Looking to get on the city payroll? Honestly, the money is decent, but the "residency requirement" is the kicker. You must live within the city limits. No suburbs. No exceptions.
- Check the Grades: City jobs are categorized by "Grades" and "Steps." You don't just ask for a raise; you wait for your next "step" increase, which is usually based on how many years you've put in.
- Union Power: Almost everything is bargained. If the union (like AFSCME or the FOP) wins a 3% raise, you get a 3% raise.
- The Long Game: The wealth in city employment isn't in the starting salary. It’s in the 20-year mark when your base pay has climbed, your vacation time is maxed out, and your pension is locked in.
The landscape for salaries for city of chicago employees is shifting. With a massive budget deficit looming in 2026, the city is under intense pressure to cut costs. But with union contracts set in stone, "cutting costs" usually means not filling empty seats rather than slashing the pay of the people already doing the work. It’s a tough balance for a city that’s trying to stay competitive while staring at a billion-dollar hole in the books.
Next Steps for Researching City Pay
If you want to find out what a specific role pays, go to the City of Chicago Data Portal. Look for the "Current Employee Names, Salaries, and Position Titles" dataset. To get the most accurate picture, filter by "Annually" for salary frequency and check the "Department" column to see how pay varies between the Mayor's Office and a department like Streets and Sanitation. Also, cross-reference any salary you find with the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) posted on the city’s Labor Relations page; these documents list the exact "Step" increases that will tell you what that same job will pay five years from now.