Skilled Wages

Boilermaker salary in Illinois

Median $47.95 an hour for 110 boilermakers, May 2025, with the union scale by county, the job trend since 1999 and the state's own outlook.

$47.95/hrMedian hourly wageIllinois, May data
$99,730/yrMedian annual payfull-time equivalent
$40.24 – $56.3810th to 90th percentilehourly range
110Jobs countedemployer survey

Data compiled by Skilled WagesBLS OEWS May 2025; prevailing wage as of 2026-11-06

Boilermaker pay in Illinois: the full range

Wage percentiles, IllinoisMarket wage, 10th-90th pctU.S. reference$20$30$40$50$60/hrIllinois: 10th $40.24 · 25th $43.04 · median $47.95 · 75th $49.72 · 90th $56.38Illinois$47.95$40.24$56.38United States: 10th $24.28 · 25th $31.13 · median $36.74 · 75th $45.88 · 90th $53.06United States$36.74
Hourly wage percentiles for boilermakers: Illinois vs United States, May 2025.

Illinois ranks 4th of 37 states for median boilermaker pay, and 6th once adjusted for cost of living (the cost-of-living-adjusted median is $47.95). 110 boilermakers work in the state. The top 10% earn 1.4× what the bottom 10% earn.

Career stage (approximate)HourlyAnnualWhere it sits in the distribution
Apprentice / entry level$40.24 – $43.04$83,690 – $89,520roughly the 10th to 25th percentile
Journeyman$43.04 – $49.72$89,520 – $103,430the middle half, around the median
Master, foreman or specialist$49.72 – $56.38$103,430 – $117,270the 75th to 90th percentile and above

Where does your pay fall?



Boilermaker pay by metro in Illinois

Ranked median wages$0$20$40$60/hrChicago: $52.71Chicago$52.71St. Louis: $45.50St. Louis$45.50
Median hourly wage for boilermakers by metro area in Illinois, May 2025.
Metro10thMedian $/hrCost-of-living adjusted90thJobsvs state
Chicago$38.18$52.71$50.88$56.579010% above
St. Louis$38.04$45.50$47.84$61.65405% below

Cost-of-living adjusted: median divided by the BEA regional price parity for the metro (2024, US = 100).

Boilermaker wages in Illinois over time

Illinois, 1999-2025IllinoisUnited StatesSOC 2010SOC 2018 / Method changeExact wages$0$20$40$60200020052010201520202025$47.95Illinois$36.74United States
Median hourly wage for boilermakers, Illinois vs United States, 1999–2025, nominal dollars.
Table
YearIllinois $/hrIn 2025 $US $/hrJobs
1999$21.93$42.38$18.091,130
2000$15.06$28.16$17.801,300
2001$22.46$40.83$19.061,630
2002$24.42$43.70$20.171,730
2003$25.92$45.35$20.791,620
2004$28.84$49.15$21.681,220
2005$32.07$52.87$23.101,260
2006$28.15$44.95$22.58990
2007$32.66$50.71$24.381,110
2008$32.08$47.97$25.131,440
2009$31.95$47.95$26.971,910
2010$29.59$43.69$26.271,330
2011$29.38$42.05$27.361,400
2012$34.18$47.93$27.19750
2013$34.93$48.27$27.74670
2014$32.82$44.63$28.78950
2015$29.68$40.31$28.90920
2016$29.56$39.65$29.84—
2017$37.29$48.98$29.93340
2018$32.39$41.53$29.8880
2020——$31.42510
2021$48.13$57.18$30.91220
2022$48.92$53.82$32.1780
2023$43.62$46.09$34.20150
2024$45.84$47.05$35.26150
2025$47.95$47.95$36.74110

In today's dollars, the median boilermaker wage in Illinois changed by +18.9% over the last ten years of data.

Are there more boilermaker jobs in Illinois?

0.0Jobs per 1,000 in the stateconcentration 0.3× the US share, 31st of 33 states

BLS counted 110 boilermakers in Illinois in May 2025, an estimate with a relative standard error of 26%. With fewer than 3,000 jobs or a wide margin of error, year-to-year changes are within the survey's noise and are not shown as a trend.

Outlook for boilermakers in Illinois

+2.0%Projected growth in Illinois2024–2034, state agency
10Openings per yeargrowth plus replacements
150Jobs in 2024150 projected for 2034
-1.8%US projected growth2025-35, BLS, for comparison

Illinois's labor market agency projects the number of boilermakers in the state to change by +2.0% between 2024 and 2034, from 150 to 150, with about 10 openings a year. Nationally, BLS projects -1.8% over 2025-35. State counts include the self-employed, so the base is larger than the 110 counted by the BLS employer survey.

Source: Illinois labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034 long-term projections (state projections page).

Union scale and prevailing wage for boilermakers in Illinois

On federally funded construction in Illinois, contractors must pay boilermakers at least the Davis-Bacon rate for the county. 102 of the 102 counties with a Building rate use a union contract rate (typical package $80.80 an hour including fringe); the rest use a survey rate (typical —). The market median for the state is $47.95.

Union contract rateSurvey rate
Union / prevailing package, $/hr, ILAdams: $80.80 (union)Alexander: $77.99 (union)Bond: $80.80 (union)Boone: $80.80 (union)Brown: $80.80 (union)Bureau: $80.80 (union)Calhoun: $80.80 (union)Carroll: $80.80 (union)Cass: $80.80 (union)Champaign: $77.99 (union)Christian: $77.99 (union)Clark: $77.99 (union)Clay: $77.99 (union)Clinton: $80.80 (union)Coles: $77.99 (union)Cook: $91.64 (union)Crawford: $77.99 (union)Cumberland: $77.99 (union)DeKalb: $80.80 (union)De Witt: $77.99 (union)Douglas: $77.99 (union)DuPage: $91.64 (union)Edgar: $77.99 (union)Edwards: $77.99 (union)Effingham: $77.99 (union)Fayette: $77.99 (union)Ford: $77.99 (union)Franklin: $77.99 (union)Fulton: $80.80 (union)Gallatin: $77.99 (union)Greene: $80.80 (union)Grundy: $91.64 (union)Hamilton: $77.99 (union)Hancock: $80.80 (union)Hardin: $77.99 (union)Henderson: $80.80 (union)Henry: $80.80 (union)Iroquois: $77.99 (union)Jackson: $77.99 (union)Jasper: $77.99 (union)Jefferson: $77.99 (union)Jersey: $80.80 (union)Jo Daviess: $80.80 (union)Johnson: $77.99 (union)Kane: $91.64 (union)Kankakee: $91.64 (union)Kendall: $91.64 (union)Knox: $80.80 (union)Lake: $91.64 (union)LaSalle: $80.80 (union)Lawrence: $77.99 (union)Lee: $80.80 (union)Livingston: $80.80 (union)Logan: $80.80 (union)McDonough: $80.80 (union)McHenry: $91.64 (union)McLean: $80.80 (union)Macon: $80.80 (union)Macoupin: $80.80 (union)Madison: $80.80 (union)Marion: $77.99 (union)Marshall: $80.80 (union)Mason: $80.80 (union)Massac: $77.99 (union)Menard: $80.80 (union)Mercer: $80.80 (union)Monroe: $80.80 (union)Montgomery: $80.80 (union)Morgan: $80.80 (union)Moultrie: $77.99 (union)Ogle: $80.80 (union)Peoria: $77.99 (union)Perry: $77.99 (union)Piatt: $77.99 (union)Pike: $80.80 (union)Pope: $77.99 (union)Pulaski: $77.99 (union)Putnam: $80.80 (union)Randolph: $80.80 (union)Richland: $77.99 (union)Rock Island: $80.80 (union)St. Clair: $80.80 (union)Saline: $77.99 (union)Sangamon: $80.80 (union)Schuyler: $80.80 (union)Scott: $80.80 (union)Shelby: $77.99 (union)Stark: $80.80 (union)Stephenson: $80.80 (union)Tazewell: $77.99 (union)Union: $77.99 (union)Vermilion: $77.99 (union)Wabash: $77.99 (union)Warren: $80.80 (union)Washington: $80.80 (union)Wayne: $77.99 (union)White: $77.99 (union)Whiteside: $80.80 (union)Will: $91.64 (union)Williamson: $77.99 (union)Winnebago: $80.80 (union)Woodford: $80.80 (union)Union / prevailing package, $/hr$80.80
Davis-Bacon base + fringe for boilermakers by county, Building construction. Hatched counties use a survey rate rather than a union contract.
Market median vs prevailing wage by countyMarket medianPrevailing (union)$40$60$80$100/hrKankakee (Illinois): market median $47.95, prevailing (union) $91.64, gap +$43.69Kankakee (Illinois)+$43.69Cook (Chicago): market median $52.71, prevailing (union) $91.64, gap +$38.93Cook (Chicago)+$38.93Bond (St. Louis): market median $45.50, prevailing (union) $80.80, gap +$35.30Bond (St. Louis)+$35.30
Market median (BLS metro wage) vs the Davis-Bacon package (base + fringe) for boilermakers, metro counties in Illinois.
CountyRate sourceBaseFringeTotalDetermination
CookUnion BOIL0001-001 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260009
DuPageUnion BOIL0001-003 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260008
GrundyUnion BOIL0001-003 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260008
KaneUnion BOIL0001-003 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260008
KankakeeUnion BOIL0001-001 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260006
KendallUnion BOIL0001-003 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260008
LakeUnion BOIL0001-003 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260008
McHenryUnion BOIL0001-003 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260008
WillUnion BOIL0001-003 2024-05-01$53.10$38.54$91.64IL20260008
AdamsUnion BOIL0363-003 2025-01-01$45.50$35.30$80.80IL20260001
BondUnion BOIL0363-003 2025-01-01$45.50$35.30$80.80IL20260001
BooneUnion BOIL0363-003 2025-01-01$45.50$35.30$80.80IL20260001
BrownUnion BOIL0363-003 2025-01-01$45.50$35.30$80.80IL20260001
BureauUnion BOIL0363-003 2025-01-01$45.50$35.30$80.80IL20260001
CalhounUnion BOIL0363-003 2025-01-01$45.50$35.30$80.80IL20260001

Building construction type, current revisions as of 2026-11-06. Residential, Heavy and Highway rates differ; look them up on the Illinois prevailing wage page. This is not the official wage determination.

Is construction work growing in Illinois?

268.8kConstruction jobsIllinois, 2026-09
+6.5%Change over 12 monthsseasonally unadjusted
Construction employment, 1990-2026150k200k250k300k350k19901995200020052010201520202025269kSep 2026
Construction employment in Illinois (thousands), construction supersector, BLS CES, not seasonally adjusted. Grey bands are recessions.

Contractor pay by county

Average pay at specialty trade contractors establishments by county (all employees, not just boilermakers), from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages. Across the 91 counties that report both years, specialty trade contractor employment (all trades) went from 136,127 in 2015 to 152,071 in 2025, +11.7%.

CountyEstablishmentsEmployeesAverage annual payAvg weekly wage
DuPage County1,89022,002$102,132$1,964
Cook County6,08049,027$97,576$1,876
Stephenson County68982$96,066$1,847
Will County1,22810,689$94,755$1,822
Saline County32371$91,633$1,762
Kane County1,1169,205$89,994$1,731
LaSalle County145950$89,622$1,723
Winnebago County3753,472$89,234$1,716
Lake County1,2438,568$86,971$1,673
Grundy County98759$85,203$1,639
Henry County70870$84,653$1,628
Hancock County12178$83,461$1,605

Keep comparing

Boilermaker pay in neighbouring states

Other trades in Illinois

More on Illinois

Questions this page answers

How much do boilermakers make in Illinois?

The median boilermaker in Illinois earned $47.95 an hour ($99,730 a year) in May 2025, 31% above the national median of $36.74. The middle half earn $43.04–$49.72; the top 10% earn more than $56.38.

Where does Illinois rank for boilermaker pay?

Illinois ranks 4th of 37 states for boilermaker pay, with a median of $47.95 an hour, and 6th after adjusting for Illinois's cost of living (BEA price parity 100.0, US = 100).

What is the union boilermaker rate in Illinois?

Davis-Bacon determinations list a union contract rate for boilermakers in 102 counties, with a typical package of $80.80 an hour including fringe benefits; see the county table above.

How many boilermakers work in Illinois?

BLS counted 110 boilermakers in Illinois in May 2025, 0.0 per 1,000 jobs (location quotient 0.27; 1.0 is the national average concentration).

Is boilermaker work growing in Illinois?

Illinois's labor market agency projects +2.0% growth for boilermakers between 2024 and 2034, from 150 to 150 jobs.

How many boilermaker openings a year are there in Illinois?

Illinois projects about 10 openings a year for boilermakers over 2024–2034, counting both new positions and replacements for people who retire or change occupation. Nationally BLS projects about 700 a year.

Sources and notes

  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Illinois and metro areas, SOC 47-2011. Job counts are survey estimates and exclude the self-employed.
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics, state construction employment through 2026-09.
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages.
  • BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (cost-of-living adjustment).
  • SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions as of 2026-11-06. Not the official determination.
  • BLS Employment Projections, national, 2025-35.
  • State projection: Illinois labor market information agency via Projections Central, 2024–2034, fetched 2026-10-05.