BLS OEWS May 2025
Payroll Specialist salary, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
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For a Payroll Specialist pay comparison in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, BLS reports a median annual wage of $62,920 for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks (SOC 43-3051, May 2025). This is the mapped occupation's benchmark, not a separate title-specific survey. That is $4,660 (8.0%) above the U.S. median of $58,260.
Direct match
BLS publishes this occupation under its own code, 43-3051 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks. Titles, seniority and industry inside it still vary.
| Percentile | Wage | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $42,340 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th | $49,750 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $62,920 | Half earned less and half earned more. |
| 75th | $77,230 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th | $87,990 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $64,400 | Average wage across all workers. |
| Percentile | Wage | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $39,500 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th | $47,990 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $58,260 | Half earned less and half earned more. |
| 75th | $69,600 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th | $81,350 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $59,630 | 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
- 4,170
- Location quotient
- 0.94
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, released 2026-05-15. SOC 43-3051 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, IL. BLS source tables and downloads; release notes. Select this SOC and area in the source files; the tables index is not an exact-row link.
What changed since May 2024
| Release | Median |
|---|---|
| BLS OEWS May 2024 | $61,920 |
| BLS OEWS May 2025 | $62,920 |
The published medians differ by $1,000. 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, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits. It is neither pure base salary nor total compensation. 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.
Pay up and down the role ladder
BLS uses a different occupation for these related jobs. A higher percentile is not a promotion level. Compare the duties and the SOC before comparing the wages.
- Payroll Supervisor: SOC 43-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
- Payroll Manager: SOC 43-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
- Director of Payroll: SOC 43-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
Recruiter's read
Qualitative view from our desk. Not BLS data.
For Payroll Specialist, discuss the work behind these requirements: Multi-state processing, garnishments, deductions and payroll reconciliations; ADP, Paylocity, Paycom, UKG or Workday; FPC a plus. 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
Which median is used when comparing pay for Payroll Specialist?
$62,920 is the annual median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks (SOC 43-3051) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, IL, based on BLS May 2025. It is an occupation benchmark, not a separate compensation survey for this hiring title.
What does the middle half of workers earn?
The 25th percentile is $49,750 and the 75th percentile is $77,230 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 4,170 workers in Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, IL.
What does the upper percentile show?
The 90th percentile for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is $87,990. 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned more.
Does BLS publish this exact title?
This is a direct occupation match to Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, but the row does not separate each employer's title or duties.
Related areas and roles
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Payroll Specialist 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 Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, use the May 2025 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks occupation benchmark (SOC 43-3051): a annual median of $62,920. This title uses the occupation's own SOC line, which still combines different employer duties. BLS reports 4,170 jobs for the occupation here. Employment is not a count of available candidates.
How much room is inside the published band?
The middle half of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks wages in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN runs from $49,750 at P25 to $77,230 at P75, a width of $27,480. The distance from P25 to the median is $13,170; from the median to P75 it is $14,310. The upper part is wider. Compare an offer against those published points, but do not assign an exact percentile between them or label them junior, senior and manager pay.
How does this estimate compare with the national figure?
The Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks median in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $4,660 above the national occupation median of $58,260. Both rows use the same SOC, release and annual basis, not a local title survey paired with a national occupation total. The location quotient is 0.94. It measures employment concentration, not the cause of a wage gap or a cost-of-living adjustment.
Which other metro estimates can you compare?
For comparison with Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the two nearest published metropolitan internal points are Niles, MI ($49,410 annual median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks); Kenosha, WI ($59,790 annual median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks). Only metros with a published median for this SOC qualify, so suppression can change the comparison set. Geography uses Census Gazetteer internal points where available, not commuting time or a claim about recruiting reach.
What can the industry rows tell you?
Among the loaded national industry rows for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, the highest numeric annual medians are Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (NAICS 541720), $91,330; Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (NAICS 519000), $86,630. This ranking excludes suppressed and top-coded medians and covers only the industries loaded for this brand. There is no industry-by-Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN wage cut in this dataset. These figures cannot establish a local industry premium.
What changed in the published median?
For Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the median was $61,920 in 2024-05 and $62,920 in 2025-05. The difference is $1,000 upward. This subtracts two published estimates; it is not a growth forecast or a same-worker raise. The SOC and area codes match, but the surveyed employment mix can change.
What belongs outside the wage budget?
The Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks benchmark is neither pure base salary nor total compensation. Guaranteed pay, commissions and production bonuses are included in OEWS, so adding all commission again would double-count pay already covered. Overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefits are excluded. Budget those separately where relevant; this Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN row provides no amounts for them, equity or relocation.
Questions about this estimate
Which occupation benchmark applies to Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?
$62,920 is the May 2025 annual median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, SOC 43-3051, in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. A direct mapping does not establish a separate salary survey for this hiring title.
How wide is the published offer band for Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?
For Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, P75 minus P25 is $27,480. The Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN endpoints are $49,750 and $77,230, not experience-level labels or an interpolated candidate percentile.
Can the industry figures be treated as Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's local rates?
The loaded Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN industry rows describe national Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks wages. The Payroll Specialist 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 Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?
The Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN annual medians were $61,920 in 2024-05 and $62,920 in 2025-05. The Payroll Specialist in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN difference is $1,000; this is not a forecast or a same-worker raise.