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Systems Engineer Salary and Equity in Chicago 2026
How much does a Systems Engineer expect to make at Chicago-based startups? The average expected salary for Systems Engineers in Chicago-based startups is 154k per year, with a range from 40k to 271k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The salary range for Systems Engineers in Chicago startups varies depending on factors such as industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
153.9k
Average Salary
2 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average salary for a Systems Engineer in Chicago is $153,857, which is 36.3% higher than the average Chicago startup salary of$112,875. Systems Engineer salaries in Chicago are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.
Top of market
$232,143/yr
Range $155k - $271k
Average
$153,857/yr
Range $40k - $200k
Below Average
$113,000/yr
Range $40k - $188k
Industries
The highest average salary a Systems Engineer in Chicago can get in Enterprise Software, that is $247,500. This pay is 26.6% higher than the average Systems Engineer salary in Chicago, which is $195,500. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Enterprise Software (avg $247,500 per year), Cloud Computing (avg $247,500 per year), Storage (avg $247,500 per year).
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a Systems Engineer in Chicago can get with 4-6 years of experience, that is $130,000. This pay is 15.2% higher than the average salary in Chicago startups, which is $112,875. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
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