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School Psychologists pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and El Centro, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for School Psychologists is $90,620 per year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. It is $145,400 per year in El Centro, CA. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 37.7% below El Centro, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 19-3034 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 2,770 wage and salary jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 50 in El Centro, CA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings