HVAC Salary in Illinois
Install, maintain, and repair heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems in residential, commercial, and industrial settings.
Illinois HVAC Wages at a Glance
Illinois HVAC technicians earn a statewide median of $77,410 per year ($37.21 per hour), up 37.6% from May 2020, with the middle of the wage range running from $46,690 at the 10th percentile to $117,550 at the 90th.
Illinois employs approximately 9,740 HVAC technicians statewide, up 13.8% from May 2020.
Illinois HVAC Notes
Illinois HVAC looks like a state market on paper. In practice it's Chicago, the western suburbs, and everywhere else. Roughly 9,700 HVAC technicians work across the state, with paycheck size mostly related to how close to the Loop you are.
High-rise commercial real estate along the Loop and River North dominates the union side. Data-center cooling infrastructure has pulled steady work into the western suburbs, while food-processing refrigeration carries the downstate market. The 38% jump in median wage from 2020 to 2025 is mostly Chicago doing the pulling, since three-quarters of the state's techs work in the metro.
Licensing in Illinois tends to trip people up as there's no statewide HVAC license. You work under whatever the local jurisdiction of the job requires. Chicago has its own refrigeration-tech and steam-fitter licenses through the Department of Buildings. Pipefitters Local 597 covers Chicago HVAC piping. Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 handles the ductwork. For non-union jobs, a lot of the work routes through the larger Chicago mechanical contractors like F.E. Moran or Hill Mechanical Group.
It's not all sunshine and rainbows though, Illinois winters are brutal on the equipment and on you. Boiler service calls at 5 AM in the dead of winter are routine. Summer cooling work is easier, but it's also the more crowded market. Service technicians who can troubleshoot hydronic boilers or ammonia refrigeration units are paid better and travel less.
Median Wages by Metro
| Metro | Annual median | Hourly | Employment | 5-yr wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peoria | $78,710 | $37.84/hr | 370 | up 36.2% |
| Chicago | $77,960 | $37.48/hr | 7,210 | up 31.3% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2020 and May 2025.
Illinois HVAC Apprenticeships
Most HVAC technicians enter the field through a registered apprenticeship: typically 4 to 5 years of paid on-the-job training combined with classroom hours.
Browse registered HVAC apprenticeship sponsors in Illinois →