400+ Marketing & Communications Jobs in Chicago, IL

Direct wage data shows a split market. In Chicago, market research analysts and marketing specialists averaged $90,330 in 2025, with a $80,400 median and a $62,160 to $105,710 middle band; marketing managers averaged $173,020 with a $165,340 median. Proxy posting data is higher because it leans toward active advertised openings: local posted salary ranges centered on about $92k to $124k, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $70k to $166k, and disclosed local openings had a median advertised midpoint of $127,500.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 380 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $87,500 at the 25th percentile, $120,000 at the median and $153,963 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of October 17, 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 a competitive market for marketing, communications, and content roles right now, but not a collapsing one. Metro unemployment was 5.2% in August 2026 and up year over year, while total metro nonfarm employment was only up 0.2241% year over year, which points to heavier applicant competition. At the same time, Illinois marketing, communications & content employment was up 2.4% year over year in September 2026 and active postings for the field were up 1.7%, suggesting this occupation family is holding up better than the broader state job market. The practical read is selective demand for experienced, analytical marketers rather than easy hiring across the board.

Best positioned: Your best odds are as a mid-career marketer who can show data analysis, project management, strategic planning, and AI-assisted workflow skills, especially in software, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, or large-brand environments.

Main caution: The biggest mistake is assuming Chicago's headline pay applies to all roles: specialist pay sits far below manager pay, and only about 10% of sampled openings were remote.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 446 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AbbVie Inc.: 14 open roles
2. Salesforce, Inc.: 8 open roles
3. Rush University Medical Center: 6 open roles
4. Kpmg Us: 5 open roles
5. Publicis Groupe: 5 open roles
6. The Aspen Group: 5 open roles
7. ThoughtSpot: 5 open roles
8. Digitas: 4 open roles
9. Publicis Groupe ANZ: 4 open roles
10. Razorfish, Inc.: 4 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 303
• Mettawa: 15
• Oak Brook: 10
• Lincolnshire: 6
• Downers Grove: 6
• Schaumburg: 5
• Rosemont: 5
• Buffalo Grove: 5

Work arrangement

on-site 230 (53%), hybrid 169 (39%), remote 34 (8%)

Where the demand is

The broadest pool of opportunities is tied to business-heavy industries rather than pure media or content shops. In the local posting sample, software development accounted for about 25% of roles, financial services about 20%, advertising services about 15%, manufacturing about 10%, and hospitals and health care about 10%. That mix fits Chicago's large Professional and Business Services base of 820.2 thousand jobs, which was up 0.3794% year over year in August 2026. There is also a meaningful split inside the category. Large brands and agencies are hiring, but the market skews toward experienced talent: about 40% of sampled roles were mid level and about 25% were lead+. The weakest pocket appears to be information-heavy employers; Chicago Information employment was 75.1 thousand and down 3.7179% year over year in August 2026, so media, publishing, and some tech-adjacent content teams may be tighter than the rest of the market. Agency-side demand is real but selective. BBDO Chicago won Applebee's creative account in September 2026, while Scale Marketing and Legacy Marketing both signaled growth through expansion-oriented leadership moves.

• Data-driven B2B and regulated-industry marketing (high): This is the strongest pocket for candidates who can combine data analysis, project management, and strategic planning inside software, financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare environments.
• Large brand and life-sciences employers (high): Among named employers in the local sample, AbbVie, Kraft Heinz Company, and Motorola Solutions Inc were among the most consistently active, which favors candidates with brand governance, launch, and stakeholder-management experience.
• Agency strategy and integrated campaign work (moderate): Chicago agencies showed selective momentum through the Applebee's account win at BBDO Chicago and leadership-expansion news at Scale Marketing and Legacy Marketing.
• Content-only and remote-only roles (limited): These look tighter because only about 10% of sampled openings were remote, and the American Marketing Association reported content-marketer roles declined 11% from 2024 to 2025 in its broader analysis.

Where to focus: Focus on mid-level roles where you can combine project management, data analysis, and cross-channel planning inside software, finance, healthcare, or manufacturing employers.

Roles worth searching next

• Business intelligence analyst: This path uses the same data analysis and interpretation strengths that local marketing postings already reward.
• Program manager, go-to-market or campaign operations: Project management and stakeholder management are already core asks in the local market, making operations-heavy program roles a natural bridge.
• Product manager for martech, adtech, or customer platforms: Employers increasingly value marketers who connect customer insight, product strategy, finance, and sales, which overlaps strongly with product work.
• AI workflow designer or automation specialist: The American Marketing Association highlighted AI-workflow designers as emerging roles, and prompt engineering plus automation fluency are rising in demand.

What postings ask for

• Data analysis and interpretation (premium | immediate): Local postings asked for data analysis in about 20% of roles, and national skills research identifies data interpretation as a core marketing skill for 2026. Who: Best for mid-career candidates, analysts, and career switchers from BI or operations.
• Project management and stakeholder management (differentiator | immediate): Project management showed up in about 25% of local postings and stakeholder management in about 10%, which signals a market that values cross-functional delivery, not just ideas. Who: Best for candidates moving beyond coordinator work into manager-track roles.
• SEO, demand generation, and content strategy (differentiator | near-term): SEO appeared in about 10% of local postings, and broader labor data still points to SEO, demand generation, and content strategy as durable demand areas. Who: Best for specialists trying to stay relevant as pure content roles narrow.
• AI literacy and prompt engineering (premium | immediate): The American Marketing Association said the share of marketing postings mentioning AI doubled in 2025, and prompt engineering remains a high-demand capability across U.S. job listings. Who: Best for everyone in this category, especially content, campaign, and strategy applicants.
• Marketing automation proficiency (premium | immediate): Marketing automation is identified as an essential skill for 2026, and AI tools such as HubSpot AI and Salesforce Einstein are now part of the practical toolset employers expect marketers to understand. Who: Best for lifecycle, demand gen, CRM, and operations-leaning marketers.
• Strategic planning and business acumen (premium | near-term): Strategic planning appeared in about 15% of local postings, while employer commentary emphasized marketers who can connect customer insight, product strategy, finance, and sales. Who: Best for mid-career and senior applicants pursuing higher-compensation roles.

Questions about this market

What do Marketing, Communications & Content roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Direct wage data shows a split market. In Chicago, market research analysts and marketing specialists averaged $90,330 in 2025, with a $80,400 median and a $62,160 to $105,710 middle band; marketing managers averaged $173,020 with a $165,340 median. Proxy posting data is higher because it leans toward active advertised openings: local posted salary ranges centered on about $92k to $124k, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $70k to $166k, and disclosed local openings had a median advertised midpoint of $127,500. Chicago pays well for marketing work, but the spread is wide. On the specialist side, local mean pay for market research analysts and marketing specialists was $90,330 versus $89,490 nationally, while the real upside sits in management and strategy-heavy roles.

Where is demand for Marketing, Communications & Content roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

The broadest pool of opportunities is tied to business-heavy industries rather than pure media or content shops. In the local posting sample, software development accounted for about 25% of roles, financial services about 20%, advertising services about 15%, manufacturing about 10%, and hospitals and health care about 10%. That mix fits Chicago's large Professional and Business Services base of 820.2 thousand jobs, which was up 0.3794% year over year in August 2026. There is also a meaningful split inside the category. Large brands and agencies are hiring, but the market skews toward experienced talent: about 40% of sampled roles were mid level and about 25% were lead+. The weakest pocket appears to be information-heavy employers; Chicago Information employment was 75.1 thousand and down 3.7179% year over year in August 2026, so media, publishing, and some tech-adjacent content teams may be tighter than the rest of the market. Agency-side demand is real but selective. BBDO Chicago won Applebee's creative account in September 2026, while Scale Marketing and Legacy Marketing both signaled growth through expansion-oriented leadership moves.

Which employers are hiring the most Marketing, Communications & Content talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from AbbVie (20 postings), Kraft Heinz Company (15 postings), Motorola Solutions Inc (10 postings), DigitalMarketingJobs.org (10 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Marketing, Communications & Content roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 10% are remote and 45% hybrid, with 45% 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: 148 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 79 open roles statewide

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