High paying repair and maintenance jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN with no degree

The best paid repair and maintenance occupations in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN that require no bachelor's degree — a high school diploma, a certificate, or an associate's degree is the typical entry. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN run 3.6% above the national average (2024), so a Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN salary is worth about 0.97× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find repair jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

OccupationMedian, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · Employed

1Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers$123,430
High school diploma or equivalent
$72,820 – $131,7601,830
2Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians$100,610
Postsecondary nondegree award
$50,060 – $130,9502,090
3First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers$85,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,850 – $133,97011,630
4Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers$79,590
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,820 – $102,7501,620
5Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers$77,960
Postsecondary nondegree award
$47,460 – $117,9407,210
6Industrial Machinery Mechanics$75,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,250 – $102,5908,710
7Millwrights$74,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,230 – $114,5901,490
8Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines$74,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,860 – $104,5702,570
9Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers$69,820
Postsecondary nondegree award
$45,000 – $100,5203,480
10Medical Equipment Repairers$68,580
Associate's degree
$42,490 – $99,2901,940
11Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists$65,680
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,830 – $98,6608,660
12Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers$61,310
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,490 – $79,8801,510
13Maintenance and Repair Workers, General$58,020
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,870 – $82,32045,710
14Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other$56,900
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,760 – $94,1303,450
15Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics$55,320
Postsecondary nondegree award
$34,520 – $92,46020,140
16Automotive Body and Related Repairers$52,040
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,960 – $79,4404,450
17Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers$45,710
Some college, no degree
$33,550 – $62,9102,590
18Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers$45,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,200 – $58,0001,670
19Tire Repairers and Changers$38,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,170 – $49,4302,810

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Electrical Power-Line Installers and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$123,430	$72,820 – $131,760	1,830
2	Aircraft Mechanics and Service TechniciansPostsecondary nondegree award	$100,610	$50,060 – $130,950	2,090
3	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$85,420	$56,850 – $133,970	11,630
4	Telecommunications Line Installers and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,590	$33,820 – $102,750	1,620
5	Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and InstallersPostsecondary nondegree award	$77,960	$47,460 – $117,940	7,210
6	Industrial Machinery MechanicsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$75,800	$49,250 – $102,590	8,710
7	MillwrightsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$74,730	$48,230 – $114,590	1,490
8	Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except EnginesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$74,090	$45,860 – $104,570	2,570
9	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line InstallersPostsecondary nondegree award	$69,820	$45,000 – $100,520	3,480
10	Medical Equipment RepairersAssociate's degree	$68,580	$42,490 – $99,290	1,940
11	Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine SpecialistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,680	$45,830 – $98,660	8,660
12	Security and Fire Alarm Systems InstallersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,310	$40,490 – $79,880	1,510
13	Maintenance and Repair Workers, GeneralHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,020	$36,870 – $82,320	45,710
14	Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,900	$38,760 – $94,130	3,450
15	Automotive Service Technicians and MechanicsPostsecondary nondegree award	$55,320	$34,520 – $92,460	20,140
16	Automotive Body and Related RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,040	$34,960 – $79,440	4,450
17	Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine RepairersSome college, no degree	$45,710	$33,550 – $62,910	2,590
18	Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,560	$31,200 – $58,000	1,670
19	Tire Repairers and ChangersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,720	$35,170 – $49,430	2,810

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to rank honestly.

High paying repair and maintenance jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN with no degree

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