Accounting Jobs in Chicago, IL

Government wage data shows accountants and auditors in Chicago at a $91,990 mean annual wage and an $82,360 median in 2025, while financial analysts sit higher at a $112,680 mean and a $101,750 median. More current but broader posting data centers local Finance & Accounting salary ranges on about $87k to $121k, and Illinois new openings averaged about $94,693 in September 2026 across a sample of 2,427 postings.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 374 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $78,319 at the 25th percentile, $91,525 at the median and $110,000 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of November 10, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Chicago is still a workable Finance & Accounting market, but it is not an easy one. Metro unemployment was 5.2% in August 2026, and local Financial Activities employment was down 5.0141% year over year, pointing to slower seat growth in the employers that absorb a lot of finance talent. The counterweight is that Illinois-wide Finance & Accounting employment was up 2.4% year over year and active postings were up 1.7% in September 2026, while the market still showed more than 2,200 postings across more than 900 companies over the last 90 days. That makes this a competitive market rather than a dead one: there is demand, but employers can be choosy and are rewarding specialization more than general availability.

Best positioned: Mid-career candidates with tax preparation, financial reporting, financial analysis, and strong Excel, especially those with a CPA, have the best odds because the posting mix skews mid-level and those are among the most requested local skills and credentials.

Main caution: Do not assume Chicago automatically pays a big premium for core accounting work: the local accountant-and-auditor median was $82,360 in 2025 versus $83,680 nationally, so city costs can eat the headline salary advantage.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 457 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Wipfli LLP: 10 open roles
2. Hogan Lovells: 6 open roles
3. Houlihan Lokey, Inc.: 6 open roles
4. Illinois Tool Works Inc.: 6 open roles
5. LaSalle Network: 6 open roles
6. Imperative Logistics Group: 5 open roles
7. Google Inc: 4 open roles
8. Imperative Logistics Group: 4 open roles
9. Kilcoy Global Foods: 4 open roles
10. Molson Coors: 4 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 234
• Itasca: 12
• Downers Grove: 10
• Oak Brook: 10
• Barrington: 9
• Naperville: 9
• Deerfield: 8
• Glenview: 8

Work arrangement

on-site 284 (63%), hybrid 149 (33%), remote 21 (5%)

Where the demand is

Opportunity is concentrated first in financial services, which account for about 35% of observed Finance & Accounting postings in the metro, followed by software development at about 20% and insurance at about 15%. That mix favors candidates who can turn accounting accuracy into business decision support, since financial reporting, financial analysis, Excel, and data analysis all show up among the most requested local hard skills. There is also a clearly tax-heavy lane in Chicago right now. Among the most consistently active employers over the last 90 days were H & R Block, Inc. with more than 300 postings and Intuit, Inc. with more than 200, while the most common certifications requested locally were CPA at about 25%, enrolled agent at about 10%, and PTIN at about 10%. At the same time, hiring is fragmented across employers rather than dominated by a few firms, which is good for job seekers willing to target sub-niches instead of waiting for one marquee employer to call.

• Tax preparation and tax advisory support (high): This is the clearest volume lane right now, with tax preparation among the top local skills and H & R Block, Inc. and Intuit, Inc. the most visibly active named employers in the sample.
• Corporate reporting, FP&A, and financial analysis (high): Financial services, software, and insurance make up most of the observed market, and employers are repeatedly asking for financial reporting, financial analysis, Excel, and data analysis.
• Senior finance leadership and succession hires (moderate): Recent CFO and chief-accounting-officer transitions at CME Group, Charter Next Generation, Kearney, and Cars.com point to selective senior backfill opportunities, but not broad-based team expansion.

Where to focus: Pick one lane—tax, reporting, or planning/analysis—and make your resume, examples, and outreach match that lane only.

Roles worth searching next

• Business Intelligence Analyst: This is a logical pivot for finance candidates who already use Excel and data analysis and can add Power BI, SQL, or Python.
• Finance Systems or ERP Analyst: Employers keep paying for reporting, analytics, and ERP expertise, and finance teams are actively adding technical capability around automation and AI.
• Revenue Operations Analyst: Software development accounts for about 20% of observed local Finance & Accounting posting activity, and the work rewards reporting, forecasting, and KPI interpretation skills.
• Fintech Implementation Consultant: Finance knowledge plus systems fluency is valuable in software and FinTech settings, especially as finance teams adopt more automation and AI-enabled tools.

What postings ask for

• CPA (premium | immediate): CPA is the most common credential named in local postings at about 25%, making it the clearest market signal for higher-trust accounting, reporting, and tax work. Who: Staff accountants moving up, auditors, tax professionals, and controller-track candidates.
• Enrolled Agent (EA) or PTIN (differentiator | immediate): EA and PTIN both appear in local certification requirements at about 10%, and the named employer mix is unusually tax-heavy with H & R Block, Inc. and Intuit, Inc. leading the sample. Who: Entry-level and mid-career candidates targeting tax preparation, tax support, or seasonal-to-permanent tax paths.
• Advanced Excel (table_stakes | immediate): Excel appears repeatedly in local skill demand, and national finance guidance now treats modern Excel as a core productivity skill rather than a bonus. Who: Everyone in the category, especially entry-level applicants who need a concrete proof-of-skill advantage.
• Financial reporting and close discipline (premium | immediate): Financial reporting is one of the most requested local hard skills, and employers nationally keep attaching pay premiums to reporting, analytics, modeling, and ERP expertise. Who: Accountants, senior accountants, audit-to-industry movers, and controller-track candidates.
• FP&A and financial analysis (premium | near-term): Financial analysis is a top local skill, and broader hiring guidance points to FP&A, data literacy, and strategic forecasting as durable demand areas in 2026. Who: Mid-career accountants moving toward business partnering, analysts, and career switchers with strong quantitative backgrounds.
• Power BI, SQL, Python, and AI-output validation (differentiator | near-term): Hays flags Power BI and SQL/Python as in demand, while finance upskilling priorities now center on AI, automation, data analysis, and the ability to verify machine-generated output. Who: Analyst-track candidates, switchers from data-heavy functions, and finance professionals who want to stay above the automation line.

Questions about this market

What do Finance & Accounting roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Government wage data shows accountants and auditors in Chicago at a $91,990 mean annual wage and an $82,360 median in 2025, while financial analysts sit higher at a $112,680 mean and a $101,750 median. More current but broader posting data centers local Finance & Accounting salary ranges on about $87k to $121k, and Illinois new openings averaged about $94,693 in September 2026 across a sample of 2,427 postings. Chicago pays reasonably well, but the strongest numbers are concentrated in analyst, manager, and specialized tax or reporting tracks. For core accountants and auditors, the local median is slightly below the national $83,680 benchmark, so the market's value is more about depth of opportunity than a pure pay premium.

Where is demand for Finance & Accounting roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Opportunity is concentrated first in financial services, which account for about 35% of observed Finance & Accounting postings in the metro, followed by software development at about 20% and insurance at about 15%. That mix favors candidates who can turn accounting accuracy into business decision support, since financial reporting, financial analysis, Excel, and data analysis all show up among the most requested local hard skills. There is also a clearly tax-heavy lane in Chicago right now. Among the most consistently active employers over the last 90 days were H & R Block, Inc. with more than 300 postings and Intuit, Inc. with more than 200, while the most common certifications requested locally were CPA at about 25%, enrolled agent at about 10%, and PTIN at about 10%. At the same time, hiring is fragmented across employers rather than dominated by a few firms, which is good for job seekers willing to target sub-niches instead of waiting for one marquee employer to call.

Which employers are hiring the most Finance & Accounting talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from H & R Block, Inc. (300 postings), Intuit, Inc. (200 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Finance & Accounting roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 25% hybrid, with 70% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Illinois openings by job title

• General Manager: 203 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 74 open roles statewide

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