Glaziers in the Chicago area earn a median of $61,530 a year, 11% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #41 of 161 metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Milwaukee, but less in South Bend.
Chicago scorecard for glaziers Our calculation
Grades compare Chicago with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($55,240).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Chicago Our calculation
Prices in Chicago run 4% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $59,395 would in a typical place, ranking #56 of 161 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
What glaziers do
Install glass in windows, skylights, store fronts, and display cases, or on surfaces, such as building fronts, interior walls, ceilings, and tabletops.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Read and interpret blueprints or specifications to determine size, shape, color, type, or thickness of glass, location of framing, installation procedures, or staging or scaffolding materials required.
- Determine plumb of walls or ceilings, using plumb lines and levels.
- Install pre-assembled metal or wood frameworks for windows or doors to be fitted with glass panels, using hand tools.
- Fabricate or install metal sashes or moldings for glass installation, using aluminum or steel framing.
- Set glass doors into frames and bolt metal hinges, handles, locks, or other hardware to attach doors to frames and walls.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, glazier jobs are projected to grow 1.9% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 3,900 openings a year. About 1% are self-employed.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, glaziers have 121 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.4× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Chicago area's unemployment rate was 4.7% in 2025 (all workers, not just glaziers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 6.2% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Chicago area is 31 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 24% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 62% drive alone, 9% take transit and 15% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Chicago are down 15% from 2021 to 2025 (18,511 → 15,778).
In 2025 the Chicago area approved permits for 15,778 new homes (9,497 single-family), or 1.7 per 1,000 residents, ranking #318 of 393 metros, a slower building market than most.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 5,684 one-person businesses (no employees) in foundation, framing & exterior work, averaging $81,058 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 3,055 foundation, framing & exterior work companies that have employees (about 21,893 workers in total). 73% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $61,530 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get glazier pricing & estimate templates →Compare Chicago with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.