Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2025
Financial Analyst Salary in Chicago, IL
Finance · SOC 13-2051 · COL Index 107.3
Financial Analysts in Chicago, IL earn a median salary of $101,750 as of 2025, with a 10th-to-90th percentile range of $67,480 to $167,300. The mean is $112,680 across approximately 17,150 workers. Adjusted for Chicago, IL's cost-of-living index of 107.3, the median equates to $94,828 of purchasing power in an average-cost U.S. metro.
Financial Analyst pay in Chicago, IL runs close to the national median: $101,750 locally versus $97,381 nationally. Cities with national-market wages typically have moderate cost-of-living and balanced labor supply-and-demand.
Cost-of-living in Chicago, IL sits near the national baseline (index 107.3), so the unadjusted $101,750 median is reasonably comparable to wages in other near-baseline cities. Wage distribution at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles: $81,188, $101,750, $134,525, $167,300. 17,150 Financial Analyst workers are documented in Chicago, IL per the BLS OEWS survey. The percentile spread is the most useful framing — entry-level pay clusters near p25, mid-career near p50, senior-level near p75-p90.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Percentile | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Entry Level) | $67,480 | $62,889 |
| 25th Percentile | $81,188 | $75,664 |
| 50th Percentile (Median) | $101,750 | $94,828 |
| 75th Percentile | $134,525 | $125,373 |
| 90th Percentile (Top Earners) | $167,300 | $155,918 |
What These Numbers Tell You
The 10th-to-90th percentile band for Financial Analysts in Chicago, IL is moderately wide — the 90th-percentile worker earns about 2.5× the 10th-percentile worker. That is typical for a professional role with standard career progression: experience, scope, and employer size all matter, but the spread is not so extreme that the role bifurcates into separate sub-markets.
Chicago, IL's cost-of-living index of 107.3 sits close to the U.S. average — $101,750 here has roughly the same purchasing power as the same salary in the typical U.S. metro. That makes this market a clean baseline for comparing offers across cities.
Chicago, IL ranks #21 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Financial Analyst pay — in the upper half (30th percentile of metros) but not the top tier.
How to Use This in Negotiation
The classic negotiation move is to anchor your ask on the 75th percentile of the BLS band — $134,525 for Financial Analysts in Chicago, IL — when you have meaningful experience, then bring evidence (years on the job, scope of past work, relevant certifications, comparable offers) to justify why you sit at that point in the distribution. Anchoring on the median when you have 5+ years of experience leaves money on the table; anchoring on the 90th percentile ($167,300) without strong evidence undercuts credibility.
For new entrants, the 25th-to-50th percentile band ($81,188–$101,750) is the realistic target. For mid-career workers, the median-to-75th band ($101,750–$134,525) is the right anchor. Senior specialists and managers should be benchmarking against the 75th-to-90th band ($134,525–$167,300).
For specific scripts and a full negotiation framework, see the data-driven salary negotiation guide. To benchmark your current pay, the salary percentile calculator places any number into the BLS distribution for this role and metro.
How This Salary Is Calculated
Wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program — a federal survey of about 1.2 million U.S. establishments, published once per year by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. The Chicago, IL percentile bands above (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) and the mean are pulled directly from the BLS data file for SOC code 13-2051 in this MSA. The COL-adjusted figure rebases salary to a U.S. national average COL of 100, using a composite index derived from public housing, food, and transportation data. Read the full methodology for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average Financial Analyst salary in Chicago, IL?
Financial Analysts in Chicago, IL earn a median salary of $101,750 as of 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data. The mean (employment-weighted average) is $112,680 across roughly 17,150 workers in this metro.
What is the salary range for Financial Analysts in Chicago, IL?
Pay ranges from $67,480 at the 10th percentile to $167,300 at the 90th percentile — a $99,820 spread. The 25th-to-75th percentile band ($81,188 to $134,525) is the typical anchor for salary negotiation.
Is $101,750 a good Financial Analyst salary in Chicago, IL?
$101,750 is the BLS median — half of Financial Analysts in Chicago, IL earn more, half earn less. Whether it is "good" depends on your experience: new entrants typically land near the 25th percentile ($81,188), mid-career workers near the median, and senior specialists near or above the 75th percentile ($134,525). Cost-of-living-adjusted to a national average baseline, the median equates to $94,828.
How does Financial Analyst pay in Chicago, IL compare to other metros?
Chicago, IL ranks #21 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Financial Analyst median pay. It sits in the upper half but not the top tier.
Where does this Financial Analyst salary data come from?
Every wage figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — public domain federal data covering 1.2 million U.S. employers. The same data feeds the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wage system used for H-1B and federal contracting wage determinations.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Chicago, IL MSA, SOC 13-2051, 2025 release. Public domain. See bls.gov/oes. Cite as: "SalaryTruth, BLS OEWS 2025."
Last refreshed 2026-05-21 · 17,150 Financial Analysts tracked in Chicago, IL.