City of Chicago / Lead Accountant
Role across City of Chicago
Lead Accountant
Maintain financial records, prepare budgets and reports, and ensure compliance with fiscal rules.
32 people hold the Lead Accountant role across 7 departments in City of Chicago, with a median total compensation of $122,928.
- Employees
- 32
- Median pay
- $122,928
- Departments
- 7
- Cross-jurisdiction
- #1 of 1
Compared with the local labor market
Lead 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. City of Chicago pays a median base salary of $122,928 for this role, 49% above that figure — about the 85th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where City of Chicago sits in the local pay range
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 City of Chicago’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. City of Chicago’s median base salary is 47% above that national figure, about the 81st 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 City of Chicago is $122,928, 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.
Within City of Chicago
Departments with this role
Largest City of Chicago departments for this role
Departments in City of Chicagoemploying the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.