High paying transportation jobs in Illinois with no degree

The best paid transportation 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 transportation jobs in Illinois

OccupationMedian, Illinois · Employed

1Locomotive Engineers$93,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$76,190 – $152,4202,340
2Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters$79,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$63,290 – $134,4402,790
3Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$75,050
No formal educational credential
$38,790 – $88,6404,910
4First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$65,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,590 – $98,01025,270
5Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$65,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,270 – $85,9908,650
6Flight Attendants$62,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,040 – $98,8109,350
7Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$60,320
Postsecondary nondegree award
$39,710 – $86,30084,200
8Bus Drivers, School$49,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,310 – $62,56021,230
9Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$47,720
No formal educational credential
$37,990 – $63,14029,450
10Light Truck Drivers$47,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,130 – $91,36047,190
11Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$40,550
No formal educational credential
$31,780 – $55,840195,390
12Driver/Sales Workers$38,960
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,200 – $65,68013,680
13Stockers and Order Fillers$37,680
No formal educational credential
$31,460 – $49,040109,240
14Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$37,590
No formal educational credential
$32,740 – $58,4307,840
15Parking Attendants$36,730
No formal educational credential
$31,260 – $53,3605,320
16Packers and Packagers, Hand$36,090
No formal educational credential
$31,240 – $46,57023,270
17Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$36,010
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $49,3601,940
18Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$35,930
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $55,99016,350

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	Locomotive EngineersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$93,320	$76,190 – $152,420	2,340
2	Railroad Conductors and YardmastersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,820	$63,290 – $134,440	2,790
3	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$75,050	$38,790 – $88,640	4,910
4	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,420	$46,590 – $98,010	25,270
5	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,200	$47,270 – $85,990	8,650
6	Flight AttendantsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,120	$40,040 – $98,810	9,350
7	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$60,320	$39,710 – $86,300	84,200
8	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,090	$38,310 – $62,560	21,230
9	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$47,720	$37,990 – $63,140	29,450
10	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,380	$33,130 – $91,360	47,190
11	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$40,550	$31,780 – $55,840	195,390
12	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,960	$31,200 – $65,680	13,680
13	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$37,680	$31,460 – $49,040	109,240
14	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$37,590	$32,740 – $58,430	7,840
15	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$36,730	$31,260 – $53,360	5,320
16	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$36,090	$31,240 – $46,570	23,270
17	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$36,010	$31,200 – $49,360	1,940
18	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$35,930	$31,200 – $55,990	16,350

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 transportation jobs in Illinois with no degree

More for Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state with no degree