As of July 01, 2026, the average annual salary for Lighting Designer in Illinois is $47,059, equivalent to $23 per hour, $905 weekly, or $3,922 monthly. These figures, sourced from Salary.com’s real-time job posting scans, highlight competitive earning potential for Lighting Designer in cities like San Jose, Santa Clara, and San Francisco.

Annually Salaries for Lighting Designer in Illinois vary widely, spanning from $40,610 to $58,226. Most professionals fall between the 25th percentile ($43,683) and 75th percentile ($52,905), while top earners (90th percentile) make $58,226 per year. This $9,222 pay gap underscores opportunities for salary growth through certifications, specialized skills like Attention to Detail or Housekeeping, or targeting high-paying regions like District of Columbia or California.

Location and experience significantly influence earnings. For example, Illinois Lighting Designer often earn 1.9% higher than national averages due to demand from Fortune 70 companies. However, Illinois currently ranks 14 nationwide for Lighting Designer job salary. Professionals are advised to focus on high-growth sectors like to offset market challenges.

Based on HR-reported data: a national average with a geographic differential
Lighting Designer Salaries by Percentile
Percentile Salary Location Last Updated
10th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $40,610 IL July 01, 2026
25th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $43,683 IL July 01, 2026
50th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $47,059 IL July 01, 2026
75th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $52,905 IL July 01, 2026
90th Percentile Lighting Designer Salary $58,226 IL July 01, 2026
25% $43,683 10% $40,610 90% $58,226 75% $52,905 $47,059 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click
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What is a Lighting Designer ?

A theatre lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety, and cost. The LD also works closely with the stage manager or show control programming, if show control systems are used in that production. Outside stage lighting, the job of a Lighting Designer can be much more diverse and they can be found working on rock and pop tours, corporate launches, art installation and on massi...

Source: Wikipedia (as of 04/17/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

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Location Avg. Salary Date Updated
Location Cicero, IL Avg. Salary $53,728 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Mount Prospect, IL Avg. Salary $52,993 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Abingdon, IL Avg. Salary $48,968 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Adair, IL Avg. Salary $48,849 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Addieville, IL Avg. Salary $49,581 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Addison, IL Avg. Salary $53,083 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Akin, IL Avg. Salary $48,815 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Albany, IL Avg. Salary $48,915 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Albers, IL Avg. Salary $49,648 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Location Albion, IL Avg. Salary $48,606 Date Updated July 01, 2026
Job Openings for Lighting Designer in Illinois

Career Path for this job

  1. This Job:

    Lighting Designer

    1 - 3 years experience
    Associate's Degree

  2. Up a level:

    Creative Production Manager

    5 + years experience
    Bachelor's Degree

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