City of Chicago / Chicago Department of Aviation / Carpenter

Job-title file

Carpenter

Carry out the duties of this position in support of the agency's public mission.

20 employees hold this title in Chicago Department of Aviation. Median total compensation for the role is $117,957, above the department median of $101,358.

Employees: 20
Total payroll: $2.4M
Role median: $117,957
Agency median: $101,358
Comparison: Above

What the records show

Role pay distribution

Pay distribution for this role

$117,957$117,977+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How total compensation varies among the 20 people in this role. Even for one job title, pay differs with seniority, step, overtime, and tenure. Each bar is a pay range; the far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Compared with the local labor market

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

Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Carpenters — about 14,220 people — is $80,440. Chicago Department of Aviation pays a median base salary of $117,957 for this role, 47% above that figure — about the 88th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Chicago Department of Aviation sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$41,220

$58,770

$80,440

$113,970

$118,450

Chicago Department of Aviation median · $117,957

The bar is the range of annual wages for Carpenters 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 Department of Aviation’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Carpenters — about 670,090 people — is $60,580. Chicago Department of Aviation’s median base salary is 95% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$40,410

$48,510

$60,580

$76,830

$99,910

Chicago Department of Aviation median · $117,957

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 Department of Aviation is $117,957, 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 departments

This role across City of Chicago

Carpenter is held in 4 City of Chicago departments. In Chicago Department of Aviation, the median of $117,957 ranks #1 of 4.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Chicago Department of Transportation

$117,957 · 7

Department of Fleet and Facility Management

$117,957 · 26

Department of Water Management

$117,957 · 7

Median total compensation for the Carpenter role in other City of Chicagodepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

Carpenter beyond City of Chicago

This role is reported in 30 jurisdictions. In City of Chicago, the median of $117,957 ranks #6 of 30. See Carpenter across all of City of Chicago →

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

City and County of San Francisco

$179,964 · 79

$147,665 · 73

$132,572 · 5

$131,963 · 143

$129,459 · 524

$106,330 · 21

Davis School District, Utah

$100,881 · 11

City of Las Vegas

$96,181 · 14

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

Record list