Machinists in the Chicago area earn a median of $59,520 a year, 4% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #120 of 361 metros for machinists nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Kenosha and Milwaukee, but less in Kankakee.
It's one of 7 Illinois metros with published pay for this trade; see machinist pay in Illinois.
Machinist pay in Chicago at a glance
- Machinists in the Chicago, IL metro earn a median $59,520 a year ($28.62 an hour), #120 of 361 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $38,680 and $78,990.
- After local prices, that median buys what $57,455 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,723 a month, 35% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
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Enter a rate to see where it falls among machinists in Chicago.
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for machinists here is above average compared with other U.S. metros, but high local prices take back much of it: on buying power it's below average. For the wider job market, unemployment is higher than in most metros (4.7%) and the population is shrinking (-0.0% since 2020).
Chicago scorecard for machinists 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 ($57,050).
Pay over time
The median pay for machinists in the Chicago area went from $42,800 in 2020 to $59,520 in 2025, up 39.1%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's +10.9% — a real raise.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
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 $57,455 would in a typical place, ranking #217 of 359 on real pay.
Real pay or rent burden?
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.
Want the full picture? Build a cost-of-living budget for Chicago from this pay, local rent and prices.
What machinists do
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers.
- Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders.
- Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers.
- Set up, adjust, or operate basic or specialized machine tools used to perform precision machining operations.
- Program computers or electronic instruments, such as numerically controlled machine tools.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, machinist jobs are projected to grow 1.0% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 26,100 openings a year. About 0% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often machinists deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes medium preparation (vocational training or an apprenticeship, often 1–2+ years).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Licensing in Illinois Official source
The main state licensing office in Illinois is the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Most trades (including general contractors and electricians) are licensed locally; plumbers are licensed by the state health department. It can point you to the right license for machinists.
Official Illinois licensing site ↗
Requirements for machinists vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, machinists have 108 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.3× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying IL metros for machinists
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChicagoILLINOIS · IL | $59,520 | $57,455 | 11,270 |
| SpringfieldILLINOIS · IL | $59,340 | $63,982 | 90 |
| ChampaignILLINOIS · IL | $58,910 | $63,546 | 100 |
| DecaturILLINOIS · IL | $56,980 | $64,441 | 60 |
| PeoriaILLINOIS · IL | $51,680 | $56,647 | 500 |
| RockfordILLINOIS · IL | $49,700 | $53,931 | 1,800 |
| KankakeeILLINOIS · IL | $47,930 | $49,723 | 100 |
See every metro in Illinois.
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 machinists), 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).
Population
The Chicago area's population shrank 0.0% from 2020 to 2025 (9,435,971 → 9,434,123), ranking #298 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). More people moved out than in (net -82,274).
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
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.
Where to train near Chicago Government data
17 schools in or near Chicago offer precision metal working (welding, machining, sheet metal) programs below the bachelor's level, 14 of them at public colleges. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
Where published, graduates earned a median of $45,023 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Technical Institute of Illinois Inc Lisle, IL · Private for-profit | Certificate | $31,954 | 117 | $45,023 |
| William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL · Public | Certificate | $17,978 | 104 | — |
| ETI School of Skilled Trades Willowbrook, IL · Private for-profit | Certificate | $26,674 | 93 | $39,528 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College Chicago, IL · Public | Certificate | $13,805 | 90 | — |
| Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills, IL · Public | Certificate | $13,415 | 89 | — |
| Elgin Community College Elgin, IL · Public | Certificate | $9,196 | 61 | — |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College Chicago, IL · Public | Certificate | $13,111 | 58 | — |
| Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park Melrose Park, IL · Private for-profit | Certificate | $33,026 | 45 | $45,316 |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $59,520 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. 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 machinist pricing & estimate templates →Compare Chicago with another city →
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ToolCheck an offer in ChicagoSee where it falls among local machinists, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolChicago budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Chicago metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank Chicago against every other metro for machinists. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.
Report a data issue on this page
The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for machinists as a separate industry, so that section is left out.