Cognizant salaries in Chicago, IL

Based on 1,095 certified H-1B filings by Cognizant in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Base salary only.

Median salary$107,640
Middle 50%$88.2k–$120.2k
vs. all employers here−1%comparison median $108,780
Filings1,095FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $79,615 and $156,461.
PercentileSalary
10th$82,846
25th$88,150
50th (median)$107,640
75th$120,182
90th$137,758

Salary by year

Median salary

$60k $90k $120k FY2020: median $74,027 (2,160 filings) FY2021: median $90,709 (737 filings) FY2022: median $93,600 (815 filings) FY2023: median $92,061 (766 filings) FY2024: median $98,259 (618 filings) FY2025: median $112,965 (704 filings) FY2026: median $107,640 (391 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 2,160 filings FY20 FY2021: 737 filings FY21 FY2022: 815 filings FY22 FY2023: 766 filings FY23 FY2024: 618 filings FY24 FY2025: 704 filings FY25 FY2026: 391 filings FY26 2,160
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$74,027$73,944$89,9812,160
FY2021$90,709$73,882$90,709737
FY2022$93,600$75,982$95,236815
FY2023$92,061$78,354$98,259766
FY2024$98,259$82,202$112,965618
FY2025$112,965$88,150$122,117704
FY2026$107,640$88,088$107,640391

By job

JobMedian hereFilings
Systems Engineer / Architect$107,640791
QA Engineer$99,237182
Software Engineer$128,87738
Network Administrator$103,33430
Management Consultant$121,74219
Graphic Designer$66,74710
Information Security Analysttoo few7
Programmer Analysttoo few7
Data Engineertoo few5
Database Administratortoo few2
Industrial Designertoo few2

Jobs with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings; links go to all employers for that job in Chicago, IL.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I – 0
Mid-level · Level II $88,088 330
Senior · Level III $107,640 537
Expert · Level IV $137,758 228

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.