Simulation Engineer.
Chicago.
$137,000
median salary, 3% above the national average
$106,000 to $174,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
Chicago is 7% more expensive than the national average. For Simulation Engineers, that shakes out to a median of $137,000, with the full range spanning $106,000 to $174,000. Compensation scales with the complexity of systems simulated and the industry vertical. Know the range before you walk in. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Simulation Engineer in Chicago, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $134,380 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area, based on 40,370 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$83,820
25th percentile
$104,530
Median
$134,380
75th percentile
$167,650
90th percentile
$203,410
Workers surveyed
40,370
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) rather than Simulation Engineer specifically. The Chicago range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 15-1252Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $123,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$89,000
to $110,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$116,000
to $144,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$151,000
to $178,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$171,000
to $212,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $33,000 to the total package.
Base
$137,000
Equity
$18,000
Bonus
$12,000
Signing
$3,000
Estimated total: $170,000
How Chicago compares.
Chicago, IL
$137,000
Cost of living: 7% above average
National Average
$133,000
Chicago is $4,000 above
Simulation Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Chicago.
What you should know.
Here is what the Simulation Engineer market actually looks like in Chicago. Chicago's economy is anchored by finance, manufacturing, and a rapidly expanding tech sector. The city has become a major hub for fintech, enterprise SaaS, and e-commerce. With lower living costs than coastal cities and a deep talent pool from top universities, Chicago offers strong salary to cost of living ratios for professionals across industries. Compensation scales with the complexity of systems simulated and the industry vertical. Simulation engineers in aerospace, autonomous vehicles, and nuclear energy earn premiums over those in consumer applications. Expertise in physics-based simulation, real-time rendering, and hardware-in-the-loop testing drives higher salaries. Experience with large-scale parallel computing adds value.
Junior simulation engineers start at $90,000 to $110,000. Mid-level engineers building production simulation environments reach $130,000 to $155,000. Senior engineers designing multi-physics simulation platforms earn $165,000 to $200,000. Directors of simulation at aerospace or AV companies can reach $220,000 to $280,000 in total compensation. In Chicago, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Bonuses of 10% to 20% are standard, often tied to project milestones. Equity at simulation software companies adds $15,000 to $60,000 annually. Government contractor roles offer strong benefits including pension plans. Access to high-performance computing resources and continuing education budgets are common perks. And on the tax side: illinois has a flat 4.95% state income tax. Chicago does not levy a separate city income tax, making the overall burden moderate compared to coastal metros. When someone quotes you $137,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Reference the Bay Area or NYC salary band for your role, then negotiate a modest discount. Chicago employers routinely offer 85 to 90% of coastal pay. The range for Simulation Engineers in Chicago runs from $106,000 to $174,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- An ML Engineer in Chicago earns $138,000 (1% more)
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Common questions.
Simulation Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Chicago.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Simulation Engineer Salary in Chicago, IL." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/simulation-engineer/chicago
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