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Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators pay in Illinois and Virginia
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators is $115,780 per year in Illinois. It is $64,150 per year in Virginia. Illinois is 80.5% above Virginia on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-8021 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 1,680 wage and salary jobs in Illinois and 350 in Virginia. 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