Survey Researchers: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN vs San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA pay

Percentile	Published wages	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
10th	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$42,750San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$65,100	$42,750	$65,100
25th	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$54,080San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$91,200	$54,080

Place	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Employment RSE
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	310Jobs per 1,000: 0.07 Location quotient: 1.28	0.07	1.28	40.1%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	180Jobs per 1,000: 0.08 Location quotient: 1.43	0.08	1.43	16.3%

Median	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$54,080San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$110,540	$54,080	$110,540

75th	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$104,430San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$196,930	$104,430	$196,930

90th	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$135,730San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$286,420	$135,730	$286,420

Start with the answer

Survey Researchers pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Survey Researchers is $54,080 per year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. It is $110,540 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 51.1% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA on the published median.

Both rows use SOC 19-3022 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 310 wage and salary jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 180 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, 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.

Pay range

Compare the full Survey Researchers wage ladder

A median can hide a wide range. The 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile points show more of each area's spread. A percentile is a rank point. It is not a career stage. The 10th point does not mean new-worker pay. The 90th point does not mean a wage that comes after a set number of years.

The lower half can differ from the upper half. One area can lead at the median and trail at another point. Read each field against the same field in the other area. Do not compare one area's 75th percentile with the other area's median. That would answer a different question.

A posted job range can sit below, across, or above these marks. That does not make the post wrong. A listing can differ by employer, level, hours, field, or work rules. Keep the listing tied to that employer. Keep the BLS range tied to the whole role-place row.

10th percentile: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $42,750 per year; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is $65,100 per year. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 34.3% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at this point.
25th percentile: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $54,080 per year; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is $91,200 per year. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 40.7% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at this point.
Median: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $54,080 per year; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is $110,540 per year. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 51.1% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at this point.
75th percentile: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $104,430 per year; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is $196,930 per year. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 47.0% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at this point.
90th percentile: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $135,730 per year; San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is $286,420 per year. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 52.6% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at this point.

Shape of pay

Mean and median tell two parts of the Survey Researchers story

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN has a mean of $76,900 per year and a median of $54,080. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA has a mean of $142,860 per year and a median of $110,540. Mean adds all wage values and splits the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's mean is 42.2% above its median on the same published median. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA's mean is 29.2% above its median on the same published median. The gaps show that each wage spread has a shape. They do not explain why the shape differs.

Use median for the middle. Use mean to see how the full set pulls. Use percentiles to see more of the spread. None of the three is a pay promise. A person, team, or listing can sit far from all three for reasons that are outside these BLS rows.

Job scale

How the two Survey Researchers job bases differ

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN has 310 estimated Survey Researchers jobs. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA has 180. The larger count shows a larger covered job base in this source. It does not show more open roles, faster hiring, or a better chance for one applicant.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN has 0.07 Survey Researchers jobs per 1,000 local jobs. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA has 0.08 per 1,000. This rate helps compare places of different size. It is not a job-post rate and does not use the MeritLog catalog.

The employment RSE is 40.1% in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 16.3% in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. RSE means relative standard error. It is a survey precision flag. It is not the chance that the job count or one person's pay is right.

Local share

Where Survey Researchers takes a larger share of jobs

The location quotient is 1.28 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 1.43 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. A value of 1 means the role has the same share of local jobs as it has across the nation. A value above 1 means the local share is larger. A value below 1 means it is smaller.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's quotient is 10.5% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA's. That gap is about the job mix. It is not a wage gap, a job-count gap, or a growth claim.

Read location quotient with employment. A small place can have a high share and few jobs. A large place can have many jobs and a share near the national mark. Then read pay as its own field. The three measures do not form one score.

BEA price view

How price levels differ between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

BEA's 2024 all-items price index is 103.6 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 115.6 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. The U.S. level is 100. A higher number means the broad local price level is higher than the national mark. It does not say a place is good or bad.

Housing is 112.0 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 194.7 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Goods are 107.3 and 108.5. Utilities are 83.6 and 172.6. Other services are 100.5 and 106.2. The parts can move in different ways.

The wage period is May 2025. The price period is 2024. WageScope keeps those clocks visible. It uses the all-items index for one clear proxy. It does not mix BEA prices into the BLS source row, and it does not claim the two releases describe the exact same month.

Price-level proxy

Compare the medians in national-price dollars

In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, we start with the $54,080 median. We divide it by 103.6 divided by 100. The result is $52,203 per year. In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, we start with $110,540. We divide it by 115.6 divided by 100. That result is $95,612 per year.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's proxy is 45.4% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA's. The nominal gap is 51.1%. The order can stay the same or change after the price-level step. Both results must keep their labels.

The proxy is a narrow math tool. It is not take-home pay. It does not add taxes, benefits, household size, debt, commute, schools, safety, climate, or taste. It does not set a wage target. Use it to see how one broad price index changes the wage view, then check your own costs outside WageScope.

Same-proxy pay

What equal price-level pay would look like in the other place

$54,080 per year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN has the same value after this price check as $60,354 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. We keep the result for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN fixed. Then we apply the overall price index for San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA.

$110,540 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA has the same proxy as $99,049 per year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. This reverse view is useful because the answer depends on which wage you start with. It is not a claim about an offer in either place.

Equivalent nominal pay uses one broad price measure. It does not know what a person buys. It does not know rent, family size, debt, taxes, travel, benefits, or savings. Treat the result as a clean source-backed comparison, not a full move plan or a number an employer must match.

Data care

Check the survey marks before you use the gap

The mean-wage RSE is 15.8% in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 5% in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. The employment RSE is 40.1% and 16.3%. RSE is a precision flag for the field it sits beside. It is not a score for the whole page.

BLS does not publish the same RSE field for the median and each percentile. WageScope does not move a mean RSE to the median. It does not use an employment RSE as a wage care mark. Each value stays tied to its source field. Missing or top-coded values also keep their source state.

New BLS or BEA data can change the result. We check the source dates before release. If a full new release is waiting for review, we cannot call these data current. Each job card has its own check date. New job posts do not make the government data newer.

Use the result

A short check list for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Start with the same Survey Researchers wage field. Then read the full percentile spread. Check job count, jobs per 1,000, and location quotient. Add the 2024 all-items and housing price levels. Read the national-price-dollar proxy with its limits. Keep the BLS and BEA dates in view.

Next, inspect one current employer-title match in each place when an exact public place match exists. A job post can show work level, hours, location rules, and pay that the BLS row cannot. The post is dated employer evidence. It does not change the survey median or prove a broad trend.

Last, use your own facts. Compare the job needs with work you have done and can support. A wage gap cannot show fit. A price-level gap cannot show fit. A job count cannot show fit. MeritLog's résumé path starts only after you choose a listing and confirm the work facts you want to use.

Limits

What this Survey Researchers comparison does not decide

The page does not choose Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN or San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA for you. It does not say what one worker earns. It does not promise a job, offer, raise, or move result. It does not say why the medians differ. It does not turn the larger wage, job count, quotient, or proxy into a place score.

This comparison leaves out people who work for themselves and jobs outside the BLS survey. It does not add taxes, take-home pay, benefits, stock, bonuses, or hours. It leaves out travel, remote work, and your home budget too. Job posts stay separate. There may be none even when all source data is ready.

Use this page for a bounded choice. Compare the same May 2025 BLS role and metric across two exact areas. Add the separate 2024 BEA price view. Inspect dated employer-title matches. Then build a résumé from facts you have confirmed. Keep each source tied to the question it can answer.

Survey Researchers: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN vs San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Same occupation, same annual wage metric

The winner can change when local prices differ

Housing and all-items indexes explain the adjustment

Matching pay after local prices

Job counts and local share

Compare another job type or two places

Survey Researchers: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA guide

Survey Researchers in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: common questions

Compare Survey Researchers listings by place

Matches for this role, shown once

No precise employer-title matches right now.

Current jobs

Tailor for a real Survey Researchers job, not a generic wage number.

Survey Researchers pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Compare the full Survey Researchers wage ladder

Mean and median tell two parts of the Survey Researchers story

How the two Survey Researchers job bases differ

Where Survey Researchers takes a larger share of jobs

How price levels differ between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Compare the medians in national-price dollars

What equal price-level pay would look like in the other place

Check the survey marks before you use the gap

A short check list for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

What this Survey Researchers comparison does not decide

Compare Survey Researchers listings by place

Matches for this role, shown once

No precise employer-title matches right now.

Privacy choices

Survey Researchers: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN vs San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Same occupation, same annual wage metric

The winner can change when local prices differ

Housing and all-items indexes explain the adjustment

Matching pay after local prices

Job counts and local share

Compare another job type or two places

Survey Researchers: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA guide

Survey Researchers in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: common questions

Compare Survey Researchers listings by place

Matches for this role, shown once

No precise employer-title matches right now.

Current jobs

Tailor for a real Survey Researchers job, not a generic wage number.

Survey Researchers pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Compare the full Survey Researchers wage ladder

Mean and median tell two parts of the Survey Researchers story

How the two Survey Researchers job bases differ

Where Survey Researchers takes a larger share of jobs

How price levels differ between Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Compare the medians in national-price dollars

What equal price-level pay would look like in the other place

Check the survey marks before you use the gap

A short check list for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

What this Survey Researchers comparison does not decide

Compare Survey Researchers listings by place

Matches for this role, shown once

No precise employer-title matches right now.