The fifth-largest economy in the U.S., the state of Illinois produced a collective $864 billion in 2018 alone. More than 5.5 million people are hard at work in Illinois, and more than 319,000 employer firms are in operation across the state.
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Illinois’ economy is diverse, with transportation, utilities and trade accounting for about 1 in 5 jobs and professional and business services adding another 15%. The Chicago metro area alone, including counties in Indiana and Wisconsin, boasts more than 4.8 million jobs and is a major financial center, as well as being home to about three dozen Fortune 500 companies.
SEE ALSO: 10 Reasons to Choose a Business Analytics Degree
Employment opportunities for individuals with an advanced education in business analytics are plentiful in Chicago and throughout the rest of the state of Illinois. A Master of Business Analytics degree enables a person to fill a variety of roles in virtually any industry. That’s because today’s modern business world is powered in large measure by data — gathering, analyzing and capitalizing on any and all information related to a business.
Where in Illinois are business analytics job openings most plentiful, how do salaries for certain business analytics jobs in Illinois compare to others across the United States, which companies are seeking to fill jobs related to business analytics, and which colleges and universities in Illinois can best position you for a career in business analytics?
Business Analytics Salaries in Illinois
While you certainly could get a job with the literal title of Business Analyst, the truth is that there are dozens of business analytics jobs available. You could work hands-on and write code or generate algorithms to project future events in the market. Or you could take a higher-level job where it’s your responsibility to convince stakeholders that your data-backed suggestions for business moves are the right ones.
Business analytics job titles you can find in Illinois include:
- Management Consultant
- Data Scientist
- Financial Analyst
- Market Research Analyst
- Budget Analyst
- Data Engineer
- Quantitative Modeler
- Operations Research Analyst
How strong is employment for these roles in Illinois, and how much money can people expect to make in Illinois or Chicago? To answer those questions, we’ll dive into the in-depth data available from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics for a few of the job titles that apply.
Among five specific roles, Illinois’ median wage tends to lag slightly behind the U.S. as a whole, but remember that individuals with master’s degrees will almost certainly command higher salaries.
Median annual wage, Illinois vs. U.S.
| Job Title | Illinois | U.S. |
| Budget Analyst | $72,820 | $76,220 |
| Financial Analyst | $79,310 | $85,660 |
| Management Analyst | $83,780 | $83,610 |
| Market Research Analyst | $57,340 | $63,120 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $93,070 | $83,390 |
For Operations Research Analyst jobs, Illinois’ median wage is nearly 12% higher than the median overall national wage, and the state is No. 7 overall.
Median annual wage, Operations Research Analyst
| Highest | |
| District of Columbia | $109,910 |
| Hawaii | $107,370 |
| Virginia | $105,270 |
| New Jersey | $101,540 |
| Maryland | $96,550 |
| New Hampshire | $93,170 |
| Illinois | $93,070 |
| New York | $92,310 |
| California | $92,130 |
| Washington | $91,840 |
| Lowest | |
| Kentucky | $63,890 |
| Oklahoma | $63,090 |
| Montana | $62,830 |
| Georgia | $62,680 |
| Indiana | $61,260 |
| North Dakota | $57,570 |
| Nebraska | $57,430 |
| Arkansas | $55,430 |
| Louisiana | $52,720 |
| West Virginia | $52,230 |
Another business analytics role, Management Analyst, enjoys some of the strongest demand in Illinois among the business analytics jobs we looked at. Outside of Washington, D.C., which tends to skew economic data thanks to its enormous population density, Illinois’ has the fourth-most job openings for Management Analysts.
Management Analyst employment per 1,000 jobs
| Highest | |
| District of Columbia | 25.841 |
| Virginia | 12.917 |
| Maryland | 6.923 |
| Washington | 6.73 |
| Illinois | 6.64 |
| Rhode Island | 6.469 |
| South Dakota | 6.404 |
| Massachusetts | 6.322 |
| California | 6.116 |
| Delaware | 5.682 |
| Lowest | |
| Nebraska | 2.342 |
| Alabama | 2.335 |
| Kentucky | 2.267 |
| Alaska | 1.83 |
| Maine | 1.814 |
| Louisiana | 1.777 |
| Wyoming | 1.474 |
| Mississippi | 1.417 |
| Montana | 1.32 |
| North Dakota | 1.304 |
Business analytics jobs in Chicago tend to be more lucrative than in Illinois overall, but other areas of the state also offer higher salaries than the state median.
Median annual wage, Illinois vs. select cities
| Job Title | Illinois | Chicago | Peoria | Springfield |
| Budget Analyst | $72,820 | $72,630 | — | $55,660 |
| Financial Analyst | $79,310 | $80,500 | $79,910 | $64,250 |
| Management Analyst | $83,780 | $84,230 | $92,230 | $69,070 |
| Market Research Analyst | $57,340 | $58,370 | $64,930 | $62,470 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $93,070 | $91,110 | — | $86,950 |
Illinois Business Analytics Degree Programs
Illinois is home to some of the most well-regarded academic programs in the country, with both public and private institutions offering outstanding educational opportunities for those with a passion for business analytics. And with the city of Chicago enjoying more than 200% growth in tech startups since 2008, there’s no time like the present to pursue advanced business analytics training in Illinois.
SEE ALSO: List of Illinois Masters in Business Analytics Degrees
Business Analytics Degree Jobs in Illinois
Both the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are economic powerhouses with thousands of new jobs opening every year. Thanks to the bustling (and growing) economy in the state, job openings in business analytics are plentiful, indeed.
SEE ALSO: 10+ Highest Paying Data Science & Analytics Jobs for 2020
Here’s a sampling of companies, organizations and other groups that were seeking professionals with the skills and passion for business analytics in Illinois, including Chicago, in mid-2019:
- CVS Health
- Walgreens
- PNC
- State Farm
- University of Chicago
- Citi
- GE Healthcare
- United Airlines
- Carle Foundation Hospital
- Chicago Public Schools
- Field Museum
- Sonova
- Tribune Publishing
- Allstate
- American Medical Association
- The Joint Commission
- Motorola Solutions
- Barilla
- USA Vein Clinics
- Mars
- Axiom
- Art Institute of Chicago
Conclusion
There is no business, nonprofit, government office, hospital or any other organization that can’t benefit from the expertise of someone with advanced training in business analytics. That’s because data is everywhere, and being able to utilize it for the benefit of an organization is the central focus for people with business analytics training.
SEE ALSO: Masters in Business Analytics Salary Outlook
Earning a Master of Business Analytics degree could be the first — and best — step you make in your career.
References
- Note: Information on recent job openings was gathered from Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com in late July 2019.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics Query System, Custom Tables. (Undated). Accessed from https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/home
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Illinois. (2019). Retrieved from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ILNGSP
- U.S. Census Bureau, Quick Facts, Illinois. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/IL