Statewide pay Government data
Septic & sewer technicians in Illinois earn a statewide median of $53,190 a year, 4% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #17 of 49 states. About 1,210 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Illinois
See all states on the septic & sewer technicians nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes septic & sewer technician pay for 4 Illinois metros. The highest-paying is Rockford at $75,010, followed by Peoria and Bloomington.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| RockfordILLINOIS · IL | $75,010 | $81,396 | 50 |
| PeoriaILLINOIS · IL | $62,080 | $68,047 | 60 |
| BloomingtonILLINOIS · IL | $60,720 | $64,915 | 30 |
| ChicagoILLINOIS · IL | $52,210 | $50,398 | 820 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Illinois's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or drains. May patch walls and partitions of tank, replace damaged drain tile, or repair breaks in underground piping.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,800 openings a year. Typical training: moderate-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, septic & sewer technicians have 162 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.9× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.
What the work is like Government data
How often septic & sewer technicians deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
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 septic & sewer technicians.
Official Illinois licensing site ↗
Requirements for septic & sewer technicians vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 13.1% of wage and salary workers in Illinois were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#12 of 51 states and D.C.), and 14.0% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only septic & sewer technicians.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in Illinois
All trades in Illinois.