City Attorney Salary in Chicago, Illinois

How much does a City Attorney make in Chicago, IL?

As of April 01, 2025, the average annual salary for a City Attorney in Chicago, IL is $108,869. According to Salary.com, salaries can range from a low of $79,135 to a high of $142,378, with most professionals earning between $93,305 and $126,409.

Search City Attorney Jobs in Chicago, IL

Develop a Job description

Pay Equity

2024 Compensation Trend

Benefits Consulting

Salary range for an City Attorney

$93,305 to $126,409

Employers: Find Surveys For This Job

Employers: Price Your Company Jobs

View Average Salary for United States
Adjust City Attorney Salary:
Select State
Select City in IL
Choose Similar Job
Pick Related Category
View Cost of Living in Chicago, Illinois

Facing Salary Structure Challenges? Let Our Expert Guide You

The job market is increasingly challenging. Our whitepaper, Navigating the Challenges of Creating Salary Structures, offers guidance on creating salary structures. Provide your phone number and work email to download the full version.

We will handle your contact details in line with our Privacy Policy. If you prefer not to receive marketing emails from Salary.com, you can opt-out out of marketing communications at any time by clicking unsubscribe.

What is a City Attorney?

A City Attorney can be an elected or appointed position in city and municipal government in the United States. The City Attorney is the attorney representing the city or municipality. In some small towns, the City Attorney is usually a lawyer in private practice and handles only governmental matters. In other towns or cities, he or she also prosecutes minor crimes. A City Attorney generally handles all legal matters for the city, from traffic tickets to civil lawsuits to acting as a general counsel, giving legal advice for city departments. Areas of focus may include: Civil claims against...

Source: Wikipedia (as of 09/06/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

See user submitted job responsibilities for City Attorney.

Search City Attorney Job Openings

Job Openings for City Attorney in Chicago, IL

What does a City Attorney do?

Common responsibilities of a City Attorney

Demonstrated project management skills and abilities, including the ability to determine overall plans, outline tasks, delegate responsibilities, set deadlines, get feedback, review and report results.

March 25, 2023

Requires an equivalent combination of education, training, or work experience, that provides the knowledge, skill, and ability required to perform the essential functions of the position.

May 18, 2023

Reviews the legality and/or sufficiency of contracts, bonds, bids, leases, insurance, deeds, easements, and other documents that have legal, financial and/or policy implications.

November 04, 2022

Assist or take lead in drafting contracts, deeds, ordinances, resolutions, intergovernmental agreements, property transaction documents and legal memoranda to assure legal protection for the City in conformance with applicable local, state and federal laws.

February 25, 2023

Provide day-to-day legal advice to the City Manager, City department heads and staff including the community development, growth management, engineering and infrastructure, police, fire, finance, accessibility, communications, city recorder, code enforcement, municipal court, purchasing, public works, airport, affordable housing, and economic development departments.

March 12, 2023

Prepare drafts and/or review the legality of legislation, ordinances, resolutions, administrative policies, contracts, deeds, leases and other legal documents and instruments.

April 01, 2023

Maintains active liaison with City, County, District Attorney, courts and other agencies that interact with the Police Department.

April 29, 2023

Represents the City in lawsuits before Federal and State courts and in administrative hearings, including enforcement actions.

May 02, 2023

Performs described Essential Functions and related assignments efficiently and effectively in order to produce quantity of work which consistently meets established standards and expectations.

May 07, 2023

Attend and participate in meetings for, and provide legal support and advice to, City commissions, committees and boards.

May 21, 2023

Submit Other Responsibilities

Not the job you're looking for? Search more salaries here:

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
Job and employee pricing reports
Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.

Learn about

City Attorney Salary By Experience Levels in Chicago, IL

How much should you be earning in City Attorney in Chicago, IL based on your current experience?

Tell us how much experience you have and see an estimate of earnings and view how different experience leavels impact potential pay for City Attorney in Chicago, IL

RELEVANT JOB EXPERIENCE

Length of experience is a pay differentiator. Those with greater experience may have an advantage in negotiating salary. For those with less experience, other factors such as education or special skills could impact your pay. Please visit Professional Salary Report for more details.

City Attorney Salary By Level of Education in Chicago, IL

Do you know how much should you be paid for a City Attorney position in Chicago, IL based on your education level?

Tell us about your education and see an estimate of earnings for City Attorney in Chicago, IL and well to know the impact of education on future careers.

LEVEL OF EDUCATION

Depending on the job, educational levels may have a significant impact on pay levels. Be informed and understand how things like education and certifications can help to increase potential earnings for the career you are interested in. Please visit Professional Salary Report for more details.

Average Salary Range for City Attorney in Chicago, IL

Average Base Salary

Core compensation

93305

126409

108869

Average Total Cash Compensation

Includes base and annual incentives

96347

134578

113857

What is the average salary for City Attorney in 2025?

These charts show the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of City Attorney in Chicago, IL. The base salary for City Attorney ranges from $93,305 to $126,409 with the average base salary of $108,869. The total cash compensation, which includes base, and annual incentives, can vary anywhere from $96,347 to $134,578 with the average total cash compensation of $113,857.

View Average Salary for City Attorney as table

	Average Salary	Average Salary Range
Base Salary	$108,869	$93,305 - $126,409
Bonus	$4,988	$3,042 - $8,169
Total Pay	$113,857	$96,347 - $134,578

* Base Salary represents gross income before taxes and deductions. It does not include additional pay such as benefits, bonuses, profit sharing or commissions.

* Total Pay combines base salary, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job.

City Attorney Salary Near Chicago, IL

CITY, STATE	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE	COMPARE TO Chicago, IL
CITY, STATE Cicero, IL	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $93,305 - $126,409	COMPARE TO Chicago, IL 0%
CITY, STATE Oak Park, IL	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $93,305 - $126,409	COMPARE TO Chicago, IL 0%
CITY, STATE Oak Lawn, IL	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $93,197 - $126,262	COMPARE TO Chicago, IL
CITY, STATE Evanston, IL	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $93,269 - $126,360	COMPARE TO Chicago, IL
CITY, STATE Skokie, IL	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $93,269 - $126,360	COMPARE TO Chicago, IL
CITY, STATE Arlington Heights, IL	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $91,355 - $123,767	COMPARE TO Chicago, IL

See salaries for City Attorney in locations close to Chicago, IL. Pay for the same job may vary based on the location and on the location and on other factors such as the size of company, the industry, and other local conditions.

About Chicago, Illinois

Chicago (/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ (listen), locally also /-ˈkɔː-/), officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,716,450 (2017), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States, and the fourth largest in North A...

Source: Wikipedia (as of 04/11/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

View Salary for Similar Jobs to City Attorney in Chicago, IL

See Additional Similar Jobs

Loading results...

JOB TITLE	LOCATION	MINIMUM SALARY	MAXIMUM SALARY
JOB TITLE Assistant City Attorney	LOCATION Chicago, IL	MINIMUM SALARY $244,813	MAXIMUM SALARY $291,388
JOB TITLE Deputy City Attorney	LOCATION Chicago, IL	MINIMUM SALARY $149,856	MAXIMUM SALARY $197,776
JOB TITLE Associate City Attorney	LOCATION Chicago, IL	MINIMUM SALARY $111,347	MAXIMUM SALARY $133,980
JOB TITLE Attorney	LOCATION Chicago, IL	MINIMUM SALARY $125,001	MAXIMUM SALARY $169,904
JOB TITLE City Clerk	LOCATION Chicago, IL	MINIMUM SALARY $42,575	MAXIMUM SALARY $51,115
JOB TITLE City Assessor	LOCATION Chicago, IL	MINIMUM SALARY $71,854	MAXIMUM SALARY $82,631

The City Attorney job could be listed using titles that are not exactly the same, but actually are for the same or very similar job. Here are some job titles in Chicago, IL that might be a good fit for the type of job and salary you are looking for.

Discover how your pay is adjusted for skills, experience, and other factors

How much should you be paid?

For a real-time salary target, tell us more about your role in the four categories below.