The greater Chicagoland area is one of the world’s largest and most diversified economies. It boasts a wealth of top-tier corporate headquarters, leading university systems, and robust tourism. But when it comes to wage growth and hiring, the Chicagoland market lags other large metropolitan regions in the United States.
Included in their “Today at Work” report, ADP Research set out to identify the strongest U.S. labor markets by examining pay growth, new hire wages, and hiring rates in metropolitan areas with populations of 1 million or more. The wage data analyzed yielded a sample of some 15 million workers, and ADP Research identified as many as 1.2 million new hires each month. To measure demand for labor, ADP Research calculated the number of new hires as a share of monthly total employment between July 2023 and June 2024.
Of the 55 metro areas examined, greater Chicago ranked near the bottom at 49. Wages were competitive, but wage growth and hiring were slow in the region, which included large suburban areas like Naperville and Elgin, Ill., and parts of Indiana and Wisconsin.
To measure median annual pay growth, ADP Research examined payroll data of individual workers who stayed at the same job for at least 12 months. Year-over-year pay gains for these job-stayers was 4.4% in June 2024, below the national median of 4.9% and slower than 93% of the metros analyzed. On the hiring side, the annual hire rate was 3.8%, worse than 66% of the metros looked at.
The region did better on base pay. The median hourly base wage for new hires was $17.50, better than 59% of the metros ADP Research analyzed.
Further digging into the data by industry revealed mixed results, with most Chicagoland industries ranking in the lower half of the 55 large metros covered in the research. Only Chicagoland’s information industry performed better on pay growth, with 5% year-over-year gains, better than 61% of the metros studied. The information industry’s new hire hourly wage was $17.50 in the region, putting it right in the middle of the 55 large metros, while the industry’s hiring rate of 3.6% was better than 54% of metros studied.
Overall, Chicagoland employers appear competitive on pay. In particular, new hires in construction earned $25.20 per hour, better than 94% of other metros. In finance, the median new hire wage was $22 per hour, better than 89% of other metros. Leisure and hospitality new hires landed $15.40 per hour, more than they would’ve in 81% of metros.
Chicagoland employers were also hot on hiring in trade, transportation, and utilities, with an annualized hiring rate of 5.3%, better than 87% of metros studied.
To improve employee retention and remain attractive to the best talent, Chicagoland employers should stay on top of benefits and compensation trends in competing metros to ward off talent loss. Some things to consider could include:
Overall, the greater Chicagoland area is home to an important economy with a talented workforce. Employers keen on keeping—and recruiting—the best and brightest should stay proactive when it comes to competing against other metro markets on pay and benefits.
