Physician assistant salary in the Chicago area
Start with Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's BLS May 2025 employee wages: $134,170 mean annually and $127,940 median for physician assistants. These are wage estimates, not a promised offer or total compensation.
Chicago area wage snapshot
| Measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Mean annual wage | $134,170 |
| Median annual wage | $127,940 |
| Employment estimate | 3,050 |
| Wage relative standard error | 3% |
Employee wages annualized at 2,080 hours. Not total compensation, guaranteed pay or a salary range. RSE measures estimate uncertainty, not your pay spread.
View official BLS wage data for this areaWhat the Chicago area row can tell you
BLS covers Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN as one metropolitan area. The published mean is $134,170, which is above the median of $127,940; BLS does not say why. The employment estimate of 3,050 counts employee jobs, not open positions. The wage relative standard error is 3%, which describes how uncertain the estimate is. It is not a pay percentile.
The Illinois state mean for physician assistants is $131,880, so this metro mean is 1.7% above the state figure. The metro is part of the state estimate, so the two overlap.
Metro figures cover wage and salary employees only. Locum, 1099 and per diem pay can look very different, and benefits, call pay and bonuses are not included. Compare a written offer on hours, scope and benefits instead of reading these two wages as a salary range.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. How Saile salary pages work.
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How Chicago compares
Rank within this role group
Mean wage rank: 30 of 50; employment rank: 7 of 50. Rank = one plus metros with a larger estimate; ties share rank. This site’s group, not all US metros.
Versus highest-mean New York City ($163,570): $29,400 (18.0%) below; versus lowest-mean Birmingham ($108,080): $26,090 (24.1%) above.
Dollar gap = metro mean minus comparator mean; percent = difference divided by comparator, times 100. Absolute gaps shown.
National comparison
BLS OEWS national mean: $141,280; Chicago is $7,110 (5.0%) below it, using the same gap formulas.
Same-state context
This is the only metro in this role group mapped to Illinois; see the Illinois state pay page.
Illinois mean: $131,880; employment: 3,790. Metro share = 3,050 divided by 3,790, multiplied by 100 = 80.5%. Overlapping estimates; multi-state ratios are not resident shares.
Same metro, other roles
Family medicine physician mean in Chicago: $223,510; Internal medicine physician mean in Chicago: $251,910; Nurse practitioner mean in Chicago: $133,040
What to check before using this number
For Chicago, subtracting the median from the mean gives $6,230; keep average and midpoint separate.
Check survey precision: 3.0% wage RSE compares with 2.3% at the group median; smaller RSE indicates greater precision.
The 3,050 employee-job estimate exceeds the group midpoint of 945; it does not count available clinicians.
Mean–median = mean minus median. Group median = middle sorted value (average of middle pair); unavailable RSE excluded.
Licensing in Illinois: physician state licensing guidance; PA Compact guidance. Check the relevant board and facility for your role.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 metro/state rows; wages, not total compensation.
Physician assistant salary questions in the Chicago area
What is the average physician assistant salary in the Chicago area?
BLS May 2025 estimates a mean annual employee wage of $134,170 and a median of $127,940 for physician assistants in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. The mean is the average; the median is the midpoint. These are employee wages, not total compensation, a guaranteed offer or a salary range.
What is the hourly pay equivalent in the Chicago area?
Dividing the annual wage estimates by 2,080 hours gives about $64.50 per hour for the mean and $61.51 for the median, rounded to cents. This is an arithmetic equivalent, not a quoted locums, per-diem or telemedicine rate.
How many physician assistants work in the Chicago area?
BLS estimates 3,050 physician assistants employed as wage and salary employees in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. This counts employee jobs, not open positions or current vacancies.
How does the Chicago area pay compare with Illinois?
The Illinois state mean for physician assistants is $131,880, so this metro mean is 1.7% above the state figure. The metro is part of the state estimate, so the two overlap.
How reliable is this metro estimate?
The wage relative standard error for this row is 3%. RSE describes how uncertain the estimate is. It is not a pay percentile or a negotiating band.
Where does Chicago rank for physician assistant mean wages?
Chicago ranks 30 of 50 by mean wage and 7 of 50 by employment in this site's role group. Rank = one plus metros with larger estimates; ties share rank. This is not every US metro.
Which other Illinois metros can I compare with Chicago?
Chicago is the only metro in this site's role group mapped to Illinois. The linked state page reports a $131,880 mean; a single listed metro does not mean the state has no other labor markets.
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