High paying repair and maintenance jobs in Illinois with no degree

The best paid repair and maintenance occupations in Illinois 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 Illinois run 0.0% below the national average (2024), so a Illinois salary is worth about 1.00× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Illinois.

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

Find repair jobs in Illinois

OccupationMedian, Illinois · Employed

1Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers$108,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$72,820 – $129,2303,090
2First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers$83,180
High school diploma or equivalent
$52,740 – $129,21017,710
3Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians$81,680
Postsecondary nondegree award
$46,460 – $130,9503,370
4Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers$77,410
Postsecondary nondegree award
$46,690 – $117,5509,740
5Industrial Machinery Mechanics$76,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,230 – $102,59012,100
6Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines$71,370
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,990 – $94,2903,470
7Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers$70,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,810 – $100,1402,460
8Medical Equipment Repairers$67,380
Associate's degree
$42,190 – $99,8802,620
9Millwrights$66,640
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,490 – $105,9402,160
10Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers$64,630
Postsecondary nondegree award
$42,700 – $100,1405,760
11Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists$64,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,760 – $97,67011,320
12Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers$59,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,670 – $79,8802,180
13Maintenance and Repair Workers, General$56,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,120 – $80,74066,600
14Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other$55,780
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,760 – $88,0005,350
15Automotive Body and Related Repairers$52,020
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,460 – $77,7305,750
16Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics$49,170
Postsecondary nondegree award
$34,190 – $91,20029,510
17Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers$45,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,200 – $58,0002,010
18Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers$44,860
Some college, no degree
$33,350 – $63,1003,260
19Tire Repairers and Changers$38,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,160 – $48,8603,540

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

#	Occupation	MedianIllinois	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Electrical Power-Line Installers and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$108,120	$72,820 – $129,230	3,090
2	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$83,180	$52,740 – $129,210	17,710
3	Aircraft Mechanics and Service TechniciansPostsecondary nondegree award	$81,680	$46,460 – $130,950	3,370
4	Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and InstallersPostsecondary nondegree award	$77,410	$46,690 – $117,550	9,740
5	Industrial Machinery MechanicsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,200	$49,230 – $102,590	12,100
6	Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except EnginesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$71,370	$42,990 – $94,290	3,470
7	Telecommunications Line Installers and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$70,700	$33,810 – $100,140	2,460
8	Medical Equipment RepairersAssociate's degree	$67,380	$42,190 – $99,880	2,620
9	MillwrightsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$66,640	$44,490 – $105,940	2,160
10	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line InstallersPostsecondary nondegree award	$64,630	$42,700 – $100,140	5,760
11	Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine SpecialistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,340	$44,760 – $97,670	11,320
12	Security and Fire Alarm Systems InstallersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,800	$38,670 – $79,880	2,180
13	Maintenance and Repair Workers, GeneralHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,720	$36,120 – $80,740	66,600
14	Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,780	$38,760 – $88,000	5,350
15	Automotive Body and Related RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,020	$34,460 – $77,730	5,750
16	Automotive Service Technicians and MechanicsPostsecondary nondegree award	$49,170	$34,190 – $91,200	29,510
17	Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and RepairersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,560	$31,200 – $58,000	2,010
18	Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine RepairersSome college, no degree	$44,860	$33,350 – $63,100	3,260
19	Tire Repairers and ChangersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,420	$35,160 – $48,860	3,540

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Illinois. 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.

More for Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Illinois to rank honestly.

High paying repair and maintenance jobs in Illinois with no degree

More for Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

High paying repair and maintenance jobs in each state with no degree