Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) Salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
This is the Data Center Headhunters salary guide.
BLS does not measure Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) as its own occupation, so this page uses Electricians (SOC 47-2111, closest proxy). The median annual wage in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN was $102,350 (BLS, May 2025), and the middle half earned $74,400 to $118,660. That is $39,160 above the national median of $63,190.
This is what we do all day: recruit data center professionals.
Closest proxy
Electricians is the closest occupational proxy based on the work described, not a separate data center wage series. BLS does not distinguish this title, experience level, shift, credentials or data center employers. Confirm the actual duties before using this comparison.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
| Point | Annual wage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $49,890 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $74,400 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $102,350 | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $118,660 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $124,070 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $94,450 | Average wage. |
| Point | Hourly wage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $23.99 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $35.77 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $49.21 | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $57.05 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $59.65 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $45.41 | Average wage. |
United States
| Point | Annual wage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $42,640 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $49,430 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $63,190 | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $83,940 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $108,510 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $71,490 | Average wage. |
| Point | Hourly wage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $20.5 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $23.76 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $30.38 | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $40.36 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $52.17 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $34.37 | Average wage. |
What BLS wages cover: OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. These are straight-time gross wages, not pure base salary or total compensation. Discuss per diem, travel and relocation separately. BLS pay-term definitions.
Employment: 17,720. Location quotient: 0.81.
Location quotient measures job concentration, not pay. A value above 1 means the occupation makes up a larger share of local jobs than it does nationally. It says nothing about wages.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 47-2111 Electricians, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. Download metropolitan data (ZIP).
Pay relative to all occupations
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| This occupation, median | $102,350 |
| All occupations (SOC 00-0000), median | $54,720 |
| Relative wage | 1.87 times |
A ratio of 1.00 means the same median as all workers in the area. It is arithmetic on two BLS medians, not a BLS statistic.
Change since the prior BLS release
| Reference period | Median |
|---|---|
| May 2024 | $99,540 |
| May 2025 | $102,350 |
| Difference | +$2,810 (+2.8%) |
Two published BLS values, shown as released. Not annualized, not adjusted for inflation, and BLS metro boundaries and survey panels can differ between releases.
What is inside the BLS pay figure
For construction and commissioning hires, separate expense reimbursements and overtime from straight-time pay. Check a project bonus on its actual terms. Guaranteed pay and production incentives count in BLS wages; discretionary nonproduction bonuses do not.
| Component | In the BLS figure? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Base rate and guaranteed pay | Included | BLS counts the "base rate" and "guaranteed pay". |
| Production and incentive pay | Included | BLS counts "incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses". |
| On-call waiting or availability pay | Left out | BLS excludes payment for time spent awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. BLS on-call pay definition. |
| Overtime pay matters here | Left out | BLS excludes "overtime pay". Straight-time pay only. |
| Shift differentials | Left out | BLS excludes "shift differentials", so night and weekend premiums are not in the figure. |
| Project-completion and discretionary bonuses matters here | Depends on the terms | Guaranteed pay and production incentives are included. Discretionary nonproduction bonuses are excluded. Check how the payment is defined. |
| Per diem, travel and relocation matters here | Left out | BLS does not name these as wages. They are expense reimbursements and are not in the figure. |
| Benefits and employer costs | Left out | BLS excludes "employer costs for supplementary benefits". |
Nearby and other areas
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Columbus, OH
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Illinois (state)
- All roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) nationally
Recruiter's read
Qualitative, not from BLS data.
Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) candidates are usually screened on journeyman license valid in the job state or reciprocity; NFPA 70E and OSHA 30; conduit, large cable pulls, busway and switchgear setting on mission critical jobs.
We usually find them through traveler networks and per diem job boards; union travel cards; open shop electricians between jobs. We contact working people directly rather than relying on job applications.
Hiring Market Brief
A one-page brief for Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: BLS pay, mapping and caveats.
Hiring Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?
Pay is one input. Scope, license and travel decide whether the person says yes.
Related
- Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) recruiting
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- Open data center jobs
- Methodology
What the published rows say about Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) maps to Electricians, SOC 47-2111. For Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the May 2025 OEWS annual median is $102,350; the middle half runs from $74,400 to $118,660. This is a proxy, not a separate wage estimate for this exact job. BLS does not separate seniority titles that share this row. Before setting an offer, pin down who owns the field decisions and whether the hire travels. A shared occupation median cannot price that scope for you.
The middle-half spread is $44,260: $27,950 from the 25th percentile to the median and $16,310 from the median to the 75th. The lower interval is wider. Use these points to compare an offer, not to price a junior or senior hire. Percentiles are not experience bands, and this distribution alone does not explain why individual workers earn different amounts.
The local median is $39,160 above the national $63,190 on the same annual basis. Both rows cover SOC 47-2111 in May 2025. This is a wage comparison, not a cost-of-living adjustment or evidence of a separate data center premium.
Kankakee, IL reports a annual median of $105,500 for this occupation in May 2025. It is one of the two nearest usable metro reference points, measured from the Census area internal point. That is $3,150 above Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's median.
Niles, MI reports a annual median of $64,060 for this occupation in May 2025. It is one of the two nearest usable metro reference points, measured from the Census area internal point. That is $38,290 below Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's median.
The highest exact national industry medians in the loaded SOC 47-2111 rows are Hydroelectric Power Generation at $134,180 and Natural Gas Distribution at $131,780. These are May 2025 national occupation estimates, not local data center pay. The loaded data has no local industry-by-occupation breakdown, so it cannot rank industries within Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN.
The matched median moved from $99,540 in May 2024 to $102,350 in May 2025: $2,810 higher. Both rows use SOC 47-2111, area 16980 and the same annual basis. This is not adjusted for inflation or annualized, and it does not attribute the change to a particular employer.
OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. This is neither pure base salary nor total compensation. Agree travel, per diem and relocation terms separately. No verified Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem)-specific allowance is in this occupation row, so none is added to the figures.
Questions about Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Which BLS row supports Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?
Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem) maps to SOC 47-2111, Electricians. The May 2025 annual median for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $102,350. The proxy mapping is not a separate survey of this niche title.
Does the figure cover the whole offer for Traveling Journeyman Electrician (Per Diem)?
OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. Travel and relocation terms still need their own discussion; this row supplies no separate allowance.
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- traveling journeyman electrician per diem niles mi
- traveling journeyman electrician per diem
- traveling journeyman electrician per diem
- methodology
Nearest-area selection uses Census Gazetteer internal points, not road distance. Source: 2025 Census Gazetteer.