RoleWeek

Software engineer salary in Chicago

49 software engineer roles in Chicago, from 33 employers and posted Oct 20–26, 2026, list a yearly salary range. The median bottom of those ranges is $100K and the median top is $175K. The middle half of the bottoms runs from $81K to $135K, and the middle half of the tops from $150K to $232K.

These are the ranges employers published in their own postings. They are not offers, not what people are paid and not a market average. Of the 59 software engineer roles in Chicago RoleWeek lists, 49 are counted here. Roles of every level are counted together and shown apart under By level. Data as of .

49roles list a yearly salary range
33employers posted them
$100Kmedian bottom of the range
$175Kmedian top of the range

How the posted ranges spread

Measure25th percentileMedian75th percentile
Bottom of the posted range$81K$100K$135K
Top of the posted range$150K$175K$232K

Not counted: 6 roles list no salary and 4 list pay by the hour. Pay by the hour, week or month is never converted or mixed with yearly ranges, and each page uses one currency.

By level

LevelRolesBottom of range median, middle halfTop of range median, middle half
Senior23$100K $78K–$121K$169K $150K–$201K

Level is RoleWeek’s reading of each posting. A level with fewer than 10 roles that list a yearly range is left out.

Roles that list a yearly salary

Showing 24 of 49, newest first. Show all software engineer roles in Chicago that list a salary

How these numbers are made

  • Source: the yearly salary ranges employers publish in their own job postings, for roles RoleWeek lists as posted in the last 7 days. They are what employers advertise, not offers, not what people are paid, and not a market average. RoleWeek lists a share of all developer roles, and an employer decides whether to post a range at all.
  • One role is one card: an opening listed for several places counts once on a page. A role listed in several cities counts on each city’s page.
  • Bottom and top of each posted range are summarised separately: the median, and the 25th and 75th percentiles (half of the roles fall between them). A role that posts a single figure counts as both its bottom and its top.
  • Yearly ranges only, in one currency per page: CA$ for the Canadian cities, $ for US cities and remote roles. Pay by the hour, day, week or month is never converted or mixed in.
  • A page exists only when 15 or more roles list a yearly range; a level gets a row at 10. The numbers are rebuilt every day from the roles posted in the last 7 days.

The roles themselves: Software engineer jobs in Chicago (59 posted in the last 7 days). Every city and role type: developer salary ranges by city.

Other role types in Chicago

Software engineer salary elsewhere