Rail Car Repairers pay range in Chicago
New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $44,910 a year or less, while the top 10% make $94,280 or more. The middle half of rail car repairers in Chicago earn between $49,690 and $94,280.
- $45K10th
- $50K25th
- $62KMedian
- $94K75th
- $94K90th
median average · bar = middle 50% of workers
| Pay level | Per year | Per month | Per hour* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | $67,570 | $5,631 | $32.49 |
| Median | $62,250 | $5,188 | $29.93 |
| Entry level (25th percentile) | $49,690 | $4,141 | $23.89 |
| Experienced (75th percentile) | $94,280 | $7,857 | $45.33 |
*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.
Rail Car Repairers salary after taxes in Chicago
On the average salary of $67,570, a single filer in Chicago takes home about $53,162 a year, or $4,430 a month and $2,045 every two weeks. Taxes take 21% of gross pay.
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area crosses state lines, so take-home pay depends on the state where you work:
| State | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Working in IN | $54,368 | $4,531 |
| Working in IL | $53,162 | $4,430 |
Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules).
Is Chicago a good place for rail car repairers? Pay vs. cost of living
Prices in the Chicago area are 4% above the U.S. average (BEA price parity 103.6), so the average $67,570 buys what about $65,225 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 1.1 times the median wage of all jobs in Chicago ($54,720). A typical home costs $353,998, or 5.2 years of this average salary before tax.
Rail Car Repairers salary in nearby metro areas
- Detroit, MI$53,270
- Kansas City, MO$54,580
- Pittsburgh, PA$64,550
- Harrisburg, PA$58,940
- Wichita, KS$42,160
- Washington, DC$93,690
Highest-paying cities for rail car repairers
Washington, DC pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($93,690).
- Washington, DC$93,690
- New York, NY$86,410
- Portland, OR$86,150
- Baltimore, MD$80,150
- Charlotte, NC$70,080
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Rail Car Repairers salary in Chicago: questions
How much do rail car repairers make an hour in Chicago?
$32.48 an hour on average, and $29.93 at the median (BLS, May 2025).
What is the entry-level rail car repairers salary in Chicago?
The lowest-paid 10% earn about $44,910 a year and the 25th percentile is $49,690, a fair guide to starting pay.
What is the rail car repairers take-home pay in Chicago?
About $53,162 a year ($4,430 a month) for a single filer on the average salary of $67,570.
Do rail car repairers earn more in Chicago than elsewhere?
The average here is about the same as the U.S. metro average for this job ($68,931).
Sources and how to read this page
- Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates for metropolitan areas. SOC code 49-3043; area Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (16980). Relative standard error of the mean wage: 3.2%.
- Cost of living: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (RPP), 2024; 100 = U.S. average.
- Home value: Zillow Home Value Index. Typical-wage figure: OEWS all occupations, same metro.
- Take-home pay: Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules).
- Job concentration: location quotient 0.92, this job is about as common as in the U.S. overall.
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