400+ Personal Care & Fitness Jobs in Chicago, IL

Observed local pay signals are mixed. O*NET estimates Chicago-area exercise trainers and group fitness instructors at a median hourly wage of $16.93 and a 25th-percentile wage of $14.60. In the Callings.ai job database, hourly postings center on about $20 to $40 / hour, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $17 to $50 / hour, while Illinois new openings in the broader occupation family showed a mean offered salary of ~$44,631 in July 2026 (n=1,351).

Full July 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 296 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $72,800 at the 25th percentile, $72,800 at the median and $72,800 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 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.

Open all in AI Job Search

What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Chicago is still a real market for Personal Care & Fitness, but it is not an easy one right now. The local sample shows more than 200 postings across more than 75 companies in the last 90 days, and hiring is fragmented rather than dominated by one employer. The caution is that Illinois-wide Personal Care & Fitness postings were down 15.2% year over year in July 2026, while Illinois employment in the occupation family was down 0.5% year over year, so local openings are landing in a softer statewide demand cycle.

Best positioned: Candidates with a current CPR/AED card, a recognized trainer certification or Illinois beauty license, and full availability for on-site evening and weekend work have the best odds.

Main caution: The biggest misconception is that Chicago's size makes this an easy market; most openings skew entry-level, nearly all are on-site, and mainstream pay can land much closer to the high-teens than to broader Chicago wage norms.

From the July 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 402 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Svetness: 160 open roles
2. Great Clips, Inc.: 74 open roles
3. Haircutterycareers: 33 open roles
4. Hair Cuttery: 19 open roles
5. Life Time, Inc.: 11 open roles
6. Nlcamerican: 10 open roles
7. Salon Renter Inc.: 6 open roles
8. Woodhouse Spas: 5 open roles
9. European Wax Center, Inc.: 4 open roles
10. EWC Growth LLC.: 4 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 51
• Naperville: 9
• Aurora: 9
• Lockport: 8
• Romeoville: 7
• Elmhurst: 6
• Schererville: 6
• Oak Brook: 6

Work arrangement

on-site 387 (99%), remote 3 (1%), hybrid 1 (0%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunities are spread across several lanes rather than one obvious employer cluster. Within local postings, the most-active industries are sports & recreation at about 25%, healthcare at about 20%, healthcare services at about 15%, beauty and personal care at about 15%, and hospitality at about 10%. The employer base is also fragmented, with the named leaders in the sample being Salon Renter Inc. at more than 40 postings and Equinox at more than 20. The best local evidence is strongest on the fitness side of the category. Chicago employed 11,600 exercise trainers and group fitness instructors in the BLS base, but the broader Personal Care & Fitness umbrella includes several sub-roles that are not measured as cleanly in current local occupation tables. For job seekers, that means you should pick a lane early: certified fitness, licensed beauty, or wellness-adjacent customer-facing work.

• Gym and studio fitness (high): This is the clearest local lane for trainers, with sports & recreation representing about 25% of postings and Equinox appearing as one of the most active named employers in the sample.
• Healthcare and wellness-adjacent coaching (moderate): Healthcare and healthcare services together account for about 35% of postings, and recognized trainer certifications are often required by gyms, hospitals, or corporate wellness programs.
• Beauty and salon services (high): Beauty and personal care accounts for about 15% of postings, and Salon Renter Inc. is the most active named employer in the sample. This lane rewards people who already have the right Illinois license and can build repeat business.
• Hospitality-linked service roles (moderate): Hospitality represents about 10% of postings, which can create openings in guest-facing wellness, spa-support, or recreation settings, but these roles are less likely to offer premium pay without specialization.

Where to focus: Choose one of two main tracks for the next 90 days: certified fitness roles in gyms and wellness settings, or licensed beauty roles tied to salon ecosystems.

Roles worth searching next

• Membership sales or member services representative: It uses the same customer-facing energy, schedule flexibility, and fitness-business familiarity as trainer and studio roles.
• Front-desk or scheduling coordinator for salons, spas, or fitness businesses: It keeps you inside the same employer ecosystem while building booking, retention, and operations experience.
• Wellness coordinator or program assistant: This is a good pivot for candidates who know fitness or beauty services but want more stable program-based work.
• Patient services or medical front-office coordinator in rehab or wellness clinics: The healthcare share of local postings suggests value in candidates who can operate comfortably in wellness-adjacent environments.
• Customer success or retention specialist for fitness-tech or wellness platforms: It fits candidates who understand client motivation and service delivery but want less physical delivery work.

What postings ask for

• CPR/AED certification (table_stakes | immediate): It is the most common named credential in local postings at about 20%, making it one of the fastest credibility signals you can add. Who: Anyone targeting fitness instruction, personal training, recreation, or childcare-adjacent care roles.
• NCCA-accredited personal trainer certification (table_stakes | immediate): Recognized certifications such as NASM, ACE, ISSA, and NSCA are highly recognized and are often required by gyms, hospitals, or corporate wellness programs, and local postings frequently ask for a professional certificate. Who: Fitness-track applicants without a strong existing client book.
• Corrective Exercise specialization (premium | near-term): Specializations such as Corrective Exercise help separate mid-career applicants from the crowded entry pool and support access to higher-value clients. Who: Trainers with a base certification who want better pay or more clinical-adjacent positioning.
• Senior Fitness specialization (premium | near-term): Senior Fitness is specifically cited as an in-demand add-on for trainers who want to serve growing populations with clearer needs. Who: Mid-career trainers, career switchers coming from care roles, and candidates targeting wellness programs.
• Fitness assessment and program design (differentiator | immediate): Local postings frequently ask for fitness assessment and fitness programming, and BLS-aligned skill signals also emphasize individualized program development and progress tracking. Who: Anyone applying beyond basic class coverage roles.
• Customer service and communication (table_stakes | immediate): Customer service is one of the most requested local skills, and BLS says fitness trainers need strong communication and customer-service skills. Who: All candidate types, especially career switchers and applicants with no premium specialization yet.

Questions about this market

What do Personal Care & Fitness roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Observed local pay signals are mixed. O*NET estimates Chicago-area exercise trainers and group fitness instructors at a median hourly wage of $16.93 and a 25th-percentile wage of $14.60. In the Callings.ai job database, hourly postings center on about $20 to $40 / hour, with a broader 25th-75th band of about $17 to $50 / hour, while Illinois new openings in the broader occupation family showed a mean offered salary of ~$44,631 in July 2026 (n=1,351). That usually means standard roles are accessible but not automatically lucrative. The metro-wide average hourly earnings across all employees were $36.17 in 2025, so much of this category sits below the broader Chicago pay baseline unless you are near the top of the local posting band or in a specialized lane.

Where is demand for Personal Care & Fitness roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Real opportunities are spread across several lanes rather than one obvious employer cluster. Within local postings, the most-active industries are sports & recreation at about 25%, healthcare at about 20%, healthcare services at about 15%, beauty and personal care at about 15%, and hospitality at about 10%. The employer base is also fragmented, with the named leaders in the sample being Salon Renter Inc. at more than 40 postings and Equinox at more than 20. The best local evidence is strongest on the fitness side of the category. Chicago employed 11,600 exercise trainers and group fitness instructors in the BLS base, but the broader Personal Care & Fitness umbrella includes several sub-roles that are not measured as cleanly in current local occupation tables. For job seekers, that means you should pick a lane early: certified fitness, licensed beauty, or wellness-adjacent customer-facing work.

Which employers are hiring the most Personal Care & Fitness talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from Salon Renter Inc. (40 postings), Equinox (20 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Personal Care & Fitness roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 4% are remote and 0% hybrid, with 95% 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.

Explore related openings

Personal Care & Fitness jobs in other metros

• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
• San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
• Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
• Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
• Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
• San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Other roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

• Software, IT & Cybersecurity
• Legal, Compliance & Risk
• Education & Training
• Finance & Accounting
• Protective Services & Public Safety
• Healthcare Support & Healthcare Administration
• Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations
• Management, Product & Project

Browse all job openings | Browse all job market reports