Compared with the local labor market
Environmental Engineer III pay vs. the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area
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 Environmental Ctrl & Sustainblty pays a median base salary of $28,707 for this role, 74% below that figure — below the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Environmental Ctrl & Sustainblty sits in the local pay range
$80,240
$95,470
$110,700
$128,790
$153,150
Department of Environmental Ctrl & Sustainblty median · $28,707
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 Environmental Ctrl & Sustainblty’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 Environmental Ctrl & Sustainblty’s median base salary is 73% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$69,990
$83,570
$107,110
$134,420
$162,220
Department of Environmental Ctrl & Sustainblty median · $28,707
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 Environmental Ctrl & Sustainblty is $28,707, 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.