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1 / 50#50. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
- Median annual wage: $64,400
- Median hourly wage: $30.96
- Total employment: 60 people (1.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Kankakee
Despite recession fears and falling consumer confidence, the job market in the United States has remained relatively stable in 2025 thus far. According to May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, around 177,000 new jobs were added in April, a slight decrease from the 185,000 new jobs added in the month before, but an extension of the country's 52-month streak of job growth. Unemployment rates also held relatively steady between April 2024 and April 2025, coming in at around 4%.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean Americans have it easy in the workplace. A December 2024 Payscale report found that nearly half (47%) of business organizations struggle to balance fair pay practices with spend optimization, and 18% plan to reduce pay increases in 2025 as a result.
For context, median weekly earnings across all employees in the U.S. stood at $1,194 in the first quarter of 2025. This represents an increase of 4.8% from a year prior and exceeds the Consumer Price Index's 2.7% increase in the same time period. However, there's one caveat: Earnings go much further in some places than in others.
In fact, the very definition of a "high-paying" job varies by location, as well as other factors such as industry and benefits. Even a six-figure salary may be considered low-income in places with an unusually high cost of living. Meanwhile, technology, finance, and health care jobs lead in terms of salary, but benefits like remote work can make other lower-paying jobs more desirable.
Regardless, anyone seeking a high-paying job should start by looking at the numbers. Stacker used BLS data to find the 50 highest-paying jobs in Kankakee. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.
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2 / 50#49. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
- Median annual wage: $65,410
- Median hourly wage: $31.45
- Total employment: 280 people (6.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Public safety telecommunicators
- Median annual wage: $68,370
- Median hourly wage: $32.87
- Total employment: 40 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kmpzzz // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Construction and building inspectors
- Median annual wage: $68,380
- Median hourly wage: $32.87
- Total employment: 30 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
industryviews // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $69,180
- Median hourly wage: $33.26
- Total employment: 50 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Carpenters
- Median annual wage: $70,280
- Median hourly wage: $33.79
- Total employment: 120 people (2.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $70,980
- Median hourly wage: $34.13
- Total employment: 40 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
pio3 // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
- Median annual wage: $71,120
- Median hourly wage: $34.19
- Total employment: 200 people (4.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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9 / 50#42. Highway maintenance workers
- Median annual wage: $71,150
- Median hourly wage: $34.21
- Total employment: 100 people (2.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $74,670
- Median hourly wage: $35.90
- Total employment: 150 people (3.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $75,970
- Median hourly wage: $36.52
- Total employment: 60 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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12 / 50#39. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $76,100
- Median hourly wage: $36.59
- Total employment: 130 people (2.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
lenetstan // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Radiologic technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $77,160
- Median hourly wage: $37.09
- Total employment: 70 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $78,110
- Median hourly wage: $37.55
- Total employment: 30 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $78,800
- Median hourly wage: $37.89
- Total employment: 70 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $79,670
- Median hourly wage: $38.31
- Total employment: 50 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Respiratory therapists
- Median annual wage: $81,890
- Median hourly wage: $39.37
- Total employment: 60 people (1.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Etaphop photo // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Electricians
- Median annual wage: $82,490
- Median hourly wage: $39.66
- Total employment: 120 people (2.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $82,550
- Median hourly wage: $39.69
- Total employment: 50 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $83,110
- Median hourly wage: $39.96
- Total employment: 1,470 people (34.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $84,880
- Median hourly wage: $40.81
- Total employment: 40 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $85,360
- Median hourly wage: $41.04
- Total employment: 90 people (2.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $86,710
- Median hourly wage: $41.69
- Total employment: 50 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
- Median annual wage: $87,270
- Median hourly wage: $41.96
- Total employment: 120 people (2.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $88,470
- Median hourly wage: $42.54
- Total employment: 60 people (1.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $90,310
- Median hourly wage: $43.42
- Total employment: 950 people (22.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Irene Miller // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Median annual wage: $90,590
- Median hourly wage: $43.55
- Total employment: 90 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $91,590
- Median hourly wage: $44.03
- Total employment: 80 people (1.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $92,050
- Median hourly wage: $44.26
- Total employment: 40 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $92,060
- Median hourly wage: $44.26
- Total employment: 50 people (1.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $92,840
- Median hourly wage: $44.64
- Total employment: 60 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $94,610
- Median hourly wage: $45.49
- Total employment: 60 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sculpies // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $96,060
- Median hourly wage: $46.18
- Total employment: 110 people (2.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $96,930
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 130 people (3.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $97,070
- Median hourly wage: $46.67
- Total employment: 50 people (1.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $97,490
- Median hourly wage: $46.87
- Total employment: 50 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $99,710
- Median hourly wage: $47.94
- Total employment: 250 people (5.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $99,860
- Median hourly wage: $48.01
- Total employment: 40 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $99,870
- Median hourly wage: $48.02
- Total employment: 60 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $106,350
- Median hourly wage: $51.13
- Total employment: 100 people (2.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $111,710
- Median hourly wage: $53.71
- Total employment: 180 people (4.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $116,490
- Median hourly wage: $56.01
- Total employment: 110 people (2.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $116,970
- Median hourly wage: $56.24
- Total employment: 60 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $120,300
- Median hourly wage: $57.84
- Total employment: 30 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $121,110
- Median hourly wage: $58.23
- Total employment: 70 people (1.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $121,770
- Median hourly wage: $58.54
- Total employment: 70 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $123,700
- Median hourly wage: $59.47
- Total employment: 80 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $128,970
- Median hourly wage: $62.01
- Total employment: 130 people (3.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $134,910
- Median hourly wage: $64.86
- Total employment: 90 people (2.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 170 people (3.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Cu Fleshman, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 364 metros.
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