Compared with the local labor market
Plumbing Inspector pay vs. the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area
Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Construction and Building Inspectors — about 1,840 people — is $82,640. Building & Zoning pays a median base salary of $29,671 for this role, 64% below that figure — below the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Building & Zoning sits in the local pay range
$48,310
$62,040
$82,640
$105,130
$127,210
Building & Zoning median · $29,671
The bar is the range of annual wages for Construction and Building Inspectors 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 Building & Zoning’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Construction and Building Inspectors — about 146,720 people — is $74,690. Building & Zoning’s median base salary is 60% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$47,140
$58,860
$74,690
$94,710
$114,200
Building & Zoning median · $29,671
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 Building & Zoning is $29,671, 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.