Average Salaries in Kankakee, IL
Explore salaries across 184 occupations in Kankakee, IL. The average median wage across all tracked occupations is $61.5K, -6.4% vs the national average. See the highest-paying roles, where the jobs are, and how local wages compare to the rest of the country.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates. Coverage: 184 occupations and 36,760 total jobs in Kankakee, IL.
How the metro compares
Kankakee, IL pays modestly below the national average. That can be partly offset by a lower cost of living compared with higher-paying markets.
Kankakee, IL is a smaller metro labor market. Some occupations may have limited local demand.
The highest-paid occupation tracked here is Physicians, All Other. Drill into any occupation below to see its local pay distribution, employment, and how it compares to the national market.
Top-paying and largest occupations in Kankakee, IL
Two different lenses on the local labor market: which occupations pay the most, and which employ the most workers. The highest-paid list tends to favor specialized professional and technical roles. The largest list reflects where the everyday jobs actually are.
Highest-paid occupations in Kankakee, IL
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Physicians, All Other | $400.3K | 200 |
| Pharmacists | $141K | 90 |
| Dentists, General | $137.4K | 40 |
| Sales Managers | $135.3K | 120 |
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $133.2K | 60 |
| Nurse Practitioners | $128.3K | 100 |
| Financial Managers | $127.5K | 170 |
| Industrial Production Managers | $124.1K | 120 |
| Human Resources Managers | $121.6K | 60 |
| Marketing Managers | $121.3K | 40 |
Largest occupations in Kankakee, IL
| Occupation | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 1,390 | $86.2K |
| Fast Food And Counter Workers | 1,220 | $31.2K |
| Cashiers | 1,190 | $31.2K |
| Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand | 1,190 | $37.1K |
| Retail Salespersons | 1,140 | $32.7K |
| General And Operations Managers | 970 | $93.3K |
| Nursing Assistants | 860 | $37.9K |
| Clinical Laboratory Technologists And Technicians | 820 | $61.2K |
| Packaging And Filling Machine Operators And Tenders | 800 | $45.5K |
| Stockers And Order Fillers | 770 | $33.1K |
What Kankakee, IL specializes in
The location quotient measures how concentrated an occupation is here compared to the national average. A value above 1.00 means the occupation is more common in Kankakee, IL than in the country as a whole, which signals what this metro is known for.
Most concentrated occupations in Kankakee, IL
| Occupation | Location quotient | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Phlebotomists | 13.87 | $40.2K |
| Clinical Laboratory Technologists And Technicians | 9.05 | $61.2K |
| Mixing And Blending Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders | 8.09 | $48.9K |
| Packaging And Filling Machine Operators And Tenders | 7.77 | $45.5K |
| Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Except Sawing | 6.63 | $37.9K |
| Library Assistants, Clerical | 5.54 | $33.3K |
| Extruding And Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic | 3.31 | $49.3K |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | 2.95 | $32.4K |
| School Bus Monitors | 2.65 | $31.2K |
| Highway Maintenance Workers | 2.35 | $73.1K |
Comparable metros
| Metro | Average median | Highest-paid occupation |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $98.7K | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $95.7K | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $92.6K | Cardiologists |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $87.1K | Cardiologists |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $83.8K | Radiologists |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $82.7K | Radiologists |
| Boulder, CO | $82.3K | Surgeons, All Other |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $82.3K | Radiologists |
Common salary questions for Kankakee, IL
What does "average median" mean? +
It is the average of all occupation-level medians in this area. It gives a rough sense of the overall wage level here compared to other states or metros, but it is not the same as a household income figure or a single blended salary.
What is a location quotient? +
A location quotient (LQ) compares how concentrated an occupation is in this area versus the national average. An LQ of 2.0 means the occupation is twice as concentrated here as it is nationally. High-LQ occupations are what this area specializes in.
How are comparable areas selected? +
Peer areas are other metros with a similar overall wage level and employment size. They give you a quick sense of how this area ranks among places with a comparable labor market.