Salary for Forensic Specialists in Illinois

Forensic specialists, also called forensic science technicians and crime scene technicians, analyze physical evidence during criminal investigations. They also testify in court about their findings. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts fast job growth in this occupation between 2008 and 2018. Forensic specialists in Illinois earn relatively high salaries.

Employment

Of the nearly 12,400 forensic specialists working in the United States in 2010, about 580 were employed in Illinois, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. An estimated 400, or nearly 70 percent, worked in the Chicago area, and about 470 in a greater Chicago metropolitan region that includes parts of Indiana and Wisconsin. By state, Illinois had the fifth-largest number of these specialists, behind California, Florida, Texas and Arizona. California, in first place, had about 1,710 forensic specialists.

Average Salaries

Forensic specialists in Illinois in 2010 had an average hourly wage of $35.09, equaling $72,990 per year. That salary made Illinois the top-paying state in the country for these workers on average. Other high-paying states were Virginia, at $69,860 per year on average, California at $67,720 and Connecticut at $67,570. The nationwide mean salary for this occupation was $55,040 per year.

Salary Range

Illinois forensic specialists in the 25th to 75th percentile of the salary range were making $55,840 to $89,220 per year in 2010. The top 10 percent earned more than $105,000 per year. In contrast, the upper 10th percentile of the nationwide pay scale for forensic specialists was $82,990, while that salary in Illinois ranked in the middle 50 percent.

Metro Areas

The estimated 470 forensic specialists in the greater Chicago metro area had an average annual salary of $69,000 in 2010. Springfield, with approximately 60 forensic specialists, had the largest concentration of these workers nationwide. The city also ranked fifth in the nation for forensic specialist pay by metro area, at $71,040 per year on average. The top-paying metro area for forensic specialists was the greater Washington, D.C., region, at $85,390 per year on average.

References

• O-Net Online: Forensic Science Technicians
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2010 - Forensic Science Technicians
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: May 2010 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates - Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment Statistics Query System