Flight Attendants Salary in Chicago, IL (2024)
Flight Attendants in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area earn a median of $62,120 per year based on 9,200 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is -7.5% against the national median of $67,130 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where flight attendants actually sit across the pay range in Chicago, IL, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $14.99 | $31,170 | |
| 25th percentile | $29.15 | $60,630 | |
| Median | — | $62,120 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $37.32 | $77,620 | |
| 90th percentile | $48.44 | $100,760 | |
| Average (mean) | — | $71,760 |
How Chicago, IL compares
The local median of $62,120 runs -7.5% below the US median of $67,130 for this occupation; it pays 20.6% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($51,510); within the metro it ranks 365th of 700 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL — this occupation | $62,120 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $67,130 | -7.5% |
| Chicago, IL — all occupations | $51,510 | +20.6% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $128,050 | -51.5% |
Chicago, IL has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 2.44 means the job is roughly 244% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 0.5%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 365th of 700 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Chicago, IL
To put $62,120 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 365th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $234,440 | 1,420 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $221,790 | 80 |
| Physicians, All Other | $215,680 | 14,850 |
| Pediatricians, General | $198,440 | 1,120 |
| Air Traffic Controllers | $184,930 | 840 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $182,830 | 1,200 |
| Dentists, General | $175,140 | 3,980 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $168,230 | 21,760 |
| Lawyers | $166,090 | 28,380 |
| Financial Managers | $164,470 | 41,170 |
Where flight attendants earn the most
Across the 21 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $38,130 to $128,050. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $128,050 | 16,500 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $103,950 | — |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $94,650 | 910 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $80,000 | 3,600 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $78,440 | 440 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $77,870 | 9,850 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $76,340 | — |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $72,200 | 4,490 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $68,650 | 3,550 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $66,780 | 6,850 |
See the full national picture on the Flight Attendants salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for flight attendants in Chicago, IL?
The median annual wage is $62,120. That means half of the flight attendants working in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $71,760.
What do the highest and lowest paid flight attendants in Chicago, IL earn?
The bottom 10% earn $31,170 or less, while the top 10% earn $100,760 or more — a spread of $69,590 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $60,630 and $77,620.
Is flight attendants pay in Chicago, IL above the local average?
Yes, it is 20.6% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $51,510. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Chicago, IL pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $62,120 the metro median is 7.5% lower than the US median of $67,130 for flight attendants. Across the 21 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $38,130 to $128,050.
How many flight attendants work in Chicago, IL?
BLS counts about 9,200 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 2.06 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. Chicago, IL has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 2.44 means the job is roughly 244% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 0.7%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.