What do bartenders earn in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?
Median, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentile pay from the federal OEWS survey. Check yours against the local market, free.
These figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, the same federal data large employers use to set pay bands. About 28,750 people work as bartenders in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, according to the most recent survey.
Fair depends on your situation, not just the median
Labor market research shows workers anchor on their current pay, not the market: people paid below market need meaningfully more to stay, and people paid above market accept less (Krueger and Mueller, AEJ: Economic Policy 2016; Jager et al., Quarterly Journal of Economics 2024). PayTruth starts from that research: enter your actual salary and situation, and it calculates the specific salary you would not leave for, then tells you how far from it you are.
Free, takes about a minute, no account needed. Your inputs are never shared with your employer.
Check my numberBartenders pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN vs nationally
| Percentile | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | U.S. overall | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th | $31,200 | $27,400 | +14% |
| Median | $31,200 | $34,340 | -9% |
| 75th | $33,500 | $47,570 | -30% |
Bartenders in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN earn about 9% less than the national median for the same occupation. Local pay tracks local costs: this metro's cost of living index is about 1.03 on the national 1.00 scale.
What the percentiles mean
The 25th percentile means a quarter of bartenders in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN earn less and three quarters earn more. The 90th percentile is the top decile: usually senior or specialized roles. If your pay sits below the 25th percentile for your role and metro, that is worth understanding before your next review or job offer.
How the free check works
PayTruth uses the BLS wage distribution above plus a tolerance model calibrated on reservation wage research (Krueger and Mueller, AEJ: Economic Policy 2016; Jager et al., Quarterly Journal of Economics 2024). You enter your role, metro, salary, and a few situation questions. You get a number: the salary you would not leave for. Below it, you are underpaid relative to your own alternatives; the gap is what an employer would need to close to keep you.