BLS OEWS May 2025
Full-Charge Bookkeeper salary, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
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The median annual wage for Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $51,440 (BLS, May 2025, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, SOC 43-3031). That is $770 (1.5%) above the U.S. median of $50,670.
Broader occupation
BLS reports Full-Charge Bookkeeper within a broader occupation. It does not publish separate wages for this exact title, credentials, seniority or industry. Compare the listed SOC duties with your actual role before using this range.
| Percentile | Wage | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $36,140 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th | $45,620 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $51,440 | Half earned less and half earned more. |
| 75th | $61,610 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th | $73,430 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $54,100 | Average wage across all workers. |
| Percentile | Wage | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $36,000 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th | $43,520 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $50,670 | Half earned less and half earned more. |
| 75th | $61,470 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th | $74,550 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $53,560 | Average wage across all workers. |
What BLS wages include and exclude
Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
- Employment, area
- 35,660
- Location quotient
- 0.89
What changed since May 2024
| Release | Median |
|---|---|
| BLS OEWS May 2024 | $50,390 |
| BLS OEWS May 2025 | $51,440 |
The published medians differ by $1,050. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2024 and May 2025. This is not an annualized growth claim. Area definitions and the workers represented can change.
What belongs in the pay comparison
OEWS includes straight-time gross wages, guaranteed pay, commissions and production bonuses. It excludes overtime, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits. If this person covers a payroll deadline, an overdue billing queue or a late close, the overtime bill is separate. A shift differential is also excluded. Compare the regular wage first, then explain the extra hours and any incentive in the offer rather than hide them inside one annual amount.
Recruiter's read
Qualitative view from our desk. Not BLS data.
For Full-Charge Bookkeeper, discuss the work behind these requirements: Takes the books from entry through month-end to trial balance and statements; runs payroll (ADP, Paychex, Gusto) and sales tax filings; QuickBooks, Xero or Sage 50. Ask what the person completed themselves and what a manager or specialist reviewed. A system name on a resume does not establish depth in that workflow. The BLS figure describes the listed occupation, not a separately measured rate for this exact opening.
Common questions
What is the median annual wage for Full-Charge Bookkeeper?
$51,440 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, IL, based on BLS May 2025 data for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks (SOC 43-3031).
What does the middle half of workers earn?
The 25th percentile is $45,620 and the 75th percentile is $61,610 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, IL. That is where the middle half of workers in this occupation fall.
How many people work in this occupation?
BLS estimates 35,660 workers in Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, IL.
How much do the highest paid workers earn?
The 90th percentile is $73,430. 10% of workers earned more.
Does BLS publish this exact title?
BLS reports Full-Charge Bookkeeper within a broader occupation. It does not publish separate wages for this exact title, credentials, seniority or industry. Compare the listed SOC duties with your actual role before using this range.
Related areas and roles
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Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, from BLS data.
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BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. These are published occupation estimates, not a quote for an exact niche title. Tool calculations use BLS values or your inputs, not predictions.
Reading this page's BLS evidence
What do the released numbers measure?
For Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the May 2025 OEWS row records a annual median of $51,440 under Full-Charge Bookkeeper (SOC 43-3031, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks). The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN mapping is a broader occupation, not a separately measured wage for this hiring title; the occupation name attached to this median is Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks. The released Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN employment field is 35,660 jobs, which describes the SOC rather than a count of candidates available to take your opening.
How much room is inside the published band?
The middle-half annual band for Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN runs from $45,620 at P25 to $61,610 at P75, a width of $15,990. For Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the lower half of that band covers $5,820, while the upper half covers $10,170; the upper side therefore accounts for more of the middle-half spread. An offer for Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN can move within that published band without justifying an exact percentile claim, and these points do not identify junior, senior or manager pay grades.
How does this estimate compare with the national figure?
The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN median is $770 above the national Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks median of $50,670. For Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, that comparison uses the same SOC, release and annual unit rather than mixing a local title-specific claim with a national occupation total. The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN location quotient is 0.89, an employment-concentration measure that cannot explain this wage difference or be used as a cost-of-living adjustment.
Which other metro estimates can you compare?
The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN comparison uses the two nearest published metropolitan internal points: Kankakee, IL, where the annual median for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is $47,240; Niles, MI, where the annual median for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks is $48,070. These Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN neighbors are selected only from metros with a published median for the same SOC, so suppression can change which comparisons are available. For Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the geography comes from Census Gazetteer internal points where available, not a claim about commuting time, recruiting reach or an employer's payroll policy.
What can the industry rows tell you?
Among the loaded national industry rows relevant to Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the highest numeric annual medians are Monetary Authorities-Central Bank (NAICS 521000), $65,060; Monetary Authorities-Central Bank (NAICS 521100), $65,060. The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN industry comparison excludes top-coded and suppressed medians from exact ranking and is limited to the industries loaded for this brand, not every possible industry. BLS does not provide an industry-by-Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN wage cut in this dataset, so the Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN national industry figures cannot be labeled local industry premiums.
What changed in the published median?
For Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the prior 2024-05 median was $50,390, compared with $51,440 in 2025-05; the released medians differ by $1,050 upward. This Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN comparison is subtraction of published medians, not an annualized growth forecast or a claim that the same workers received that change. The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN year-over-year cells use the same SOC and area code, but changes in the surveyed employment mix can still affect what the two medians describe.
What belongs outside the wage budget?
The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN annual median of $51,440 is an OEWS wage measure, not a complete employer-cost budget. For Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, guaranteed pay and incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses belong inside the OEWS definition, so adding all commission again would double-count a component the survey includes. Overtime, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefit costs are excluded from the Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN wage definition; budget those separately when relevant, but this Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN row supplies no dollar amounts for them, equity or relocation.
Questions about this estimate
What does Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's $51,440 median actually measure?
For Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, this is the May 2025 annual median of Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, SOC 43-3031. The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN broader mapping does not establish a separately measured employer-specific rate for the opening.
How wide is the published offer band for Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?
For Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, P75 minus P25 is $15,990. The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN endpoints are $45,620 and $61,610, not experience-level labels or an interpolated candidate percentile.
Can the industry figures be treated as Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's local rates?
The loaded Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN industry rows describe national Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks wages. The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN rows are not an industry-by-Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN breakdown, so no local industry premium is calculated.
What changed between releases for Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?
The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN annual medians were $50,390 in 2024-05 and $51,440 in 2025-05. The Full-Charge Bookkeeper in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN difference is $1,050; this is not a forecast or a same-worker raise.