DevOps Engineer salary in Chicago.
Live salary data from Adzuna, calibrated against Hustle Report member submissions. Updated daily.
The 25 / 50 / 75 percentile band.
25th percentile
$82,500
Median (50th)
$108,000
Calibrated estimate
75th percentile
$146,000
Percentiles describe a snapshot of advertised salaries. Real take-home depends on tax band, pension contributions and bonuses. Hustle Report members can plug their actual numbers into the in-app calculator for a precise picture.
DevOps Engineer market in Chicago.
DevOps and platform engineers are the second-highest paid engineering specialism after AI/ML. The clearest premium is for engineers who can run a multi-cluster Kubernetes platform with observability and cost discipline. Contract day rates run £550-£900 for senior platform work.
Chicago specifically: Chicago is the largest US tech hub between the coasts, with a strong financial services anchor (CME, Citadel, Discover) and growing remote-friendly tech employer base. Salaries sit ~15% below NYC for finance-adjacent tech roles.
Members in this role typically add $12,000/year.
Modeled on a conservative 4 hours/week of contract work at the role's implied hourly equivalent ($60/hr). The Hustle Report Monday editorial finds the briefs and ranks them by fit so the time stays small.
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