Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers · SOC 51-9123
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers Salary in the Chicago Metro Area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area
Figures describe the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Chicago city limits.
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area earned a median of $33,830 per year ($16.27 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $30,830 at the 10th percentile to $64,090 at the 90th. BLS estimates 180 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers in the Chicago metro area earn more than $33,830 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $31,200 and $48,380.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $30,830 | $31,200 | $33,830 | $48,380 | $64,090 |
| Hourly | $14.82 | $15.00 | $16.27 | $23.26 | $30.81 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Chicago metro areathis metro area$33,830 median for Chicago metro area; middle half earns $31,200 to $48,380
- Illinoisstate (IL)$41,960 median for Illinois; middle half earns $32,240 to $48,400
- United Statesnational$41,600 median for United States; middle half earns $37,030 to $50,360
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −19% vs Illinois overall and −19% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Where this metro sits nationally
Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.
The Chicago metro area has the 36th-highest published median for this occupation among the 39 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for painting, coating, and decorating workerss · Highest-paying occupations in Chicago Metro
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.