Kankakee, IL

Across all occupations in the Kankakee, IL metropolitan area, the median wage is $45,830 a year ($22.03 an hour) and the mean $57,760, May 2025. That median is −10% against the US median of $50,980 and −12% against Illinois's $51,960. BLS counts 42,340 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is physicians, all other; the largest is registered nurses.

All occupations: Kankakee, IL vs Illinois and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Kankakee, IL area, Illinois and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Kankakee, IL	Hourly	$15.00	$16.97	$22.03	$31.58	$46.78	$27.77	42,340
Kankakee, IL	Annual	$31,200	$35,290	$45,830	$65,680	$97,310	$57,760	42,340
Illinois	Hourly	$15.82	$18.25	$24.98	$39.93	$61.43	$34.20	6,098,130
Illinois	Annual	$32,900	$37,960	$51,960	$83,060	$127,770	$71,130	6,098,130
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

183 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Illinois. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Kankakee, IL

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Physicians, All Other	$400,280	$192.44	200
2	Pharmacists	$140,960	$67.77	90
3	Dentists, General	$137,390	$66.06	40
4	Sales Managers in Illinois	$135,330	$65.06	120
5	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Illinois	$133,150	$64.01	60
6	Nurse Practitioners	$128,320	$61.69	100
7	Financial Managers in Illinois	$127,470	$61.29	170
8	Industrial Production Managers	$124,070	$59.65	120
9	Human Resources Managers	$121,560	$58.44	60
10	Marketing Managers	$121,310	$58.32	40
11	Software Developers in Illinois	$116,550	$56.03	60
12	Managers, All Other in Illinois	$109,340	$52.57	100
13	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$107,910	$51.88	40
14	Lawyers in Illinois	$107,030	$51.46	50
15	Electricians in Illinois	$105,500	$50.72	140
16	Medical and Health Services Managers	$103,720	$49.86	250
17	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers in Illinois	$100,640	$48.39	140
18	Physical Therapists	$99,770	$47.97	60
19	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	$99,470	*	130
20	Project Management Specialists in Illinois	$95,790	$46.05	70

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Kankakee, IL

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Registered Nurses in Illinois	1,390	32.85	1.51	$86,220
2	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Illinois	1,220	28.77	1.16	$31,220
3	Cashiers in Illinois	1,190	28.15	1.42	$31,200
3	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Illinois	1,190	28.01	1.48	$37,110
5	Retail Salespersons in Illinois	1,140	26.94	1.07	$32,650
6	General and Operations Managers in Illinois	970	22.80	1.01	$93,310
7	Nursing Assistants in Illinois	860	20.33	2.18	$37,900
8	Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	820	19.37	9.05	$61,200
9	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	800	18.94	7.77	$45,480
10	Stockers and Order Fillers in Illinois	770	18.15	1.00	$33,110
11	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Illinois	760	17.96	1.35	$46,750
12	Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Illinois	590	13.88	1.52	$35,430
12	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Illinois	590	13.95	0.50	$37,380
14	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Illinois	570	13.43	0.95	$36,000
15	Office Clerks, General in Illinois	560	13.19	0.83	$40,450
16	Waiters and Waitresses in Illinois	550	12.94	0.89	$31,200
17	Phlebotomists	540	12.80	13.87	$40,230
17	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Illinois	540	12.71	1.16	$44,740
19	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Illinois	520	12.21	1.24	$58,400
20	Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Illinois	500	11.80	1.31	$38,120

Most concentrated occupations in Kankakee, IL

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Phlebotomists	13.87	540	12.80	$40,230
2	Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	9.05	820	19.37	$61,200
3	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	8.09	210	4.94	$48,930
4	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	7.77	800	18.94	$45,480
5	Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing	6.63	110	2.62	$37,850
6	Library Assistants, Clerical	5.54	130	3.05	$33,290
7	Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	2.95	240	5.58	$32,430
8	Highway Maintenance Workers	2.35	100	2.35	$73,080
9	Special Education Teachers, Secondary School	2.31	100	2.44	$62,610
10	Physicians, All Other	2.18	200	4.80	$400,280

Occupation groups in Kankakee, IL

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$99,470	$114,200	2,710	63.89	0.89
Legal	$86,980	$109,960	90	2.10	0.25
Architecture and Engineering	$84,470	$90,000	260	6.25	0.37
Computer and Mathematical	$79,990	$87,250	400	9.38	0.28
Construction and Extraction	$76,530	$77,390	1,210	28.46	0.69
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$74,860	$87,100	4,800	113.40	1.79
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$74,290	$75,780	310	7.21	0.76
Business and Financial Operations	$72,010	$77,620	1,380	32.66	0.48
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$57,180	$57,870	1,580	37.36	0.95
Protective Service	$55,050	$59,320	920	21.68	0.89
Community and Social Service	$52,370	$58,560	850	20.00	1.17
Educational Instruction and Library	$47,470	$52,350	3,060	72.26	1.23
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$46,490	$53,030	300	7.08	0.54
Production	$46,030	$49,420	3,950	93.33	1.69
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$43,820	$50,060	80	1.82	0.65
Office and Administrative Support	$42,670	$46,390	4,480	105.85	0.93
Healthcare Support	$38,170	$41,630	2,430	57.43	1.13
Transportation and Material Moving	$37,390	$42,680	4,020	95.00	1.08
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$35,830	$38,910	1,170	27.60	0.94
Sales and Related	$34,310	$44,980	3,670	86.57	1.00
Personal Care and Service	$34,300	$37,870	650	15.35	0.73
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$31,350	$34,710	4,040	95.34	1.08

Every occupation in Illinois, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 183 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Kankakee, IL estimates (area 28100).

*: Wage estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Kankakee, IL area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.