NDT Technician Salary: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

What do these published wages mean for an offer?

Skilled Trades Headhunters reads the May 2025 figures for Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) as an offer reference, not a quote for a particular candidate. For Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician), the published median for SOC 17-3029, Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other, is $81,660 per year. The middle half of the Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) wage distribution runs from $70,390 to $98,110, a width of $27,720 per year; that spread shows how much published pay varies within the occupation and area, without assigning experience levels.

Against the United States estimate, the Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) median is $3,310 above the national median of $78,350. For Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029), Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI reports $78,650 per year, $3,010 below Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN; For Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029), Bloomington, IL reports $79,800 per year, $1,860 below Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. The neighbors used for Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) are the nearest metro representative points with a released median, using Census geography, not a commuting or cost-of-living adjustment.

The highest published medians among the selected national industry rows for Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other, read alongside Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician), are Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing at $110,930 per year (NAICS 324000); Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing at $110,930 per year (NAICS 324100); Natural Gas Distribution at $109,260 per year (NAICS 221200). Those Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) industry comparisons are national cross-sections, not local industry estimates; BLS does not give us a metro-by-industry wage cut here, and overlapping industry groups should not be added together.

The Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) median was $79,490 per year in May 2024, compared with $81,660 in May 2025, a published difference of $2,170. That Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) comparison is between separate BLS releases, not the raise paid to the same workers or a projection of next year's offer. Read the $79,490 and $81,660 Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) estimates with both dates visible, because the employers and workers represented by the survey can change.

Before using $81,660 per year from Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) to calibrate an offer, separate on-call duties, overtime, travel reimbursement, tool replacement and any truck allowance separately; prevailing wage and union requirements must be checked against the actual assignment. The Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) BLS comparison measures straight-time gross wages, including commissions and production bonuses, but excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. A candidate's take-home pay and the employer's total cost for Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) can therefore differ from the median without either number being an error.

The mapping for Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) is proxy: Closest proxy: Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other; This published occupation covers only part of NDT Technician; do not treat it as a quoted range for the complete role. When calibrating a Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) opening, the work checks include ASNT SNT-TC-1A Level II in the methods needed; industrial radiographer card for RT; ask for evidence of that scope instead of using a percentile as a substitute for qualification. A broader occupation can combine jobs that a Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (SOC 17-3029) in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (reference for NDT Technician) buyer would screen separately, which is why the badge and SOC remain beside the figures.

Questions about this occupation and area