City of Chicago / Department of Environment / Environmental Engineer I
Job-title file
Design, analyze, and oversee technical systems or infrastructure, ensuring they meet specifications and codes.
4 employees hold this title in Department of Environment. Median total compensation for the role is $100,284, below the department median of $111,000.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Environmental Engineers — about 660 people — is $110,700. Department of Environment pays a median base salary of $112,536 for this role, 2% above that figure — about the 53rd percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Environmental Engineers 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 Department of Environment’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Environmental Engineers — about 38,340 people — is $107,110. Department of Environment’s median base salary is 5% above that national figure, about the 55th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
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 Department of Environment is $112,536, 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
This role is reported in 12 jurisdictions. In City of Chicago, the median of $115,086 ranks #5 of 12. See Environmental Engineer across all of City of Chicago →
Median total compensation for comparable Environmental Engineerroles 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
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Environmental Engineer I/Department of Environment
Source-specific fields
Kendra Graham is a Environmental Engineer I at Department of Environment. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $122,700.
Environmental Engineer I/Department of Environment
Source-specific fields
John Singler holds the role of Environmental Engineer I at Department of Environment. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $107,628.
Environmental Engineer I/Department of Environment
Source-specific fields
Brittany Foreman works as a Environmental Engineer I for Department of Environment. Their status is full-time. Brittany earned $92,940 in 2026.
Environmental Engineer I/Department of Environment
Source-specific fields
Narmin El-Tillawi holds the role of Environmental Engineer I at Department of Environment. Their status is full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $88,524.