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Chicago Public Schools / Senior Accountant

Role across Chicago Public Schools

Senior Accountant

Maintain financial records, prepare budgets and reports, and ensure compliance with fiscal rules.

5 people hold the Senior Accountant role across 2 departments in Chicago Public Schools, with a median total compensation of $118,700. Among 8 jurisdictions where this role is reported, Chicago Public Schools ranks #3 by median pay.

Employees
5
Median pay
$118,700
Departments
2
Cross-jurisdiction
#3 of 8

Compared with the local labor market

Senior Accountant pay vs. the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area

Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Accountants and Auditors — about 41,360 people — is $82,360. Chicago Public Schools pays a median base salary of $95,004 for this role, 15% above that figureabout the 65th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Chicago Public Schools sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$59,530
$72,280
$82,360
$103,120
$134,100
Chicago Public Schools median · $95,004

The bar is the range of annual wages for Accountants and Auditors across every employer in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Chicago Public Schools’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Accountants and Auditors — about 1,449,500 people — is $83,680. Chicago Public Schools’s median base salary is 14% above that national figure, about the 61st percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$56,020
$67,020
$83,680
$109,810
$144,090
Chicago Public Schools median · $95,004

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at Chicago Public Schools is $118,700, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare jurisdictions

Senior Accountant pay in other jurisdictions

Where Senior Accountants are paid most

City of Los Angeles
$149,603 · 110
District of Columbia
$127,297 · 29
City of Buffalo
$64,176 · 7
Missouri
$54,683 · 71

Median total compensation for comparable Senior Accountantroles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.

Within Chicago Public Schools

Departments with this role

Largest Chicago Public Schools departments for this role

Accounting
4 · $120,657
Accounts Payable
1 · $98,474

Departments in Chicago Public Schoolsemploying the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.