- Landon's Loop
- Posts
- đź’¸ Salary Shifts in Chicago
đź’¸ Salary Shifts in Chicago
AND Tech Events in Chicago
71st Edition

✍🏽 This Week’s Lineup:
đź’¸ Salary Shifts in Chicago
đź“Š Chart of the Week
📆 Events Around the City
đź’¸ Salary Shifts in Chicago
As startup ecosystems evolve, so do compensation trends across different regions.
In the first half of 2024, Midwest cities like Chicago are showing strong competitiveness, closing the gap with tech hubs like SF.
Let’s take a look:
Roles in Demand
Chicago has some of the highest average salaries for Product and Engineering roles in the Midwest.
With an average salary of $100,389, Design & UX roles are on the rise.
The average salary for Data & Analytics professionals in Chicago stands at $110,781.

Midwestern Metros vs SF
Both Chicago and Minneapolis offer salaries at 88% of SF rates, leading the Midwest in startup compensation.
Cleveland and St. Louis aren’t far behind, with salaries reaching 87% and 85% of SF rates.
Cincinnati and Indianapolis saw salary gains of 5.3% and 5.0%.

Chicago’s Edge
Despite a slight dip (2%) from 2023, Chicago remains a top destination for tech talent, thanks to its affordability, competitive salaries, and high quality of life.
Chicago consistently leads in housing affordability, with a favorable salary-to-cost-of-living ratio and long-term cost-effectiveness since 1970. (chart below)
While hiring has slowed as companies across the US try to reduce spending, the demand for high-skill tech / data roles remains strong, allowing Chicago to maintain strong momentum.

đź“Š Chart of the Week
Chicago is leading the way in return-to-office.

Recently, Chicago saw a peak occupancy of 71.7%, surpassing all other major metros, which highlights our city's efforts in bringing employees back to the office.
Prove safe and responsible use of AI - get $1,000 off Vanta
If you’re building or selling AI-powered products, demonstrating top-notch security practices and establishing trust is more important than ever.
With Vanta, you can quickly and easily demonstrate compliance with gold-standard AI frameworks like ISO 42001 and NIST AI RMF.
Vanta helps you prove secure deployment of AI, build customer trust, and accelerate your sales cycle.
Plus, with Vanta’s Questionnaire Automation, you can automate your responses to lengthy security questionnaires about your security posture and AI practices.
Learn more and claim a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta at the link below.
📆 Events Around the City
Product and Strategy 101 - The Why
Hosted by mHUB
Wednesday Aug 14
Talent Collective Chicago
Hosted by TC
Wednesday Aug 14
The Future of Risk: Tech, Talent, and Competitive Advantage
Hosted by Vouch
Wednesday Aug 14
Work from Summertime Chi at mHUB
Hosted by mHUB
Thursday Aug 15
E-commerce Growth Breakfast
Hosted by Flaunt
Thursday Aug 15
AI & Tech Networking Chi
Hosted by Derun Events
Thursday Aug 15