2011 Chicago metropolitan salaries and benefits

Chicago metropolitan area — 68 responses

Total responses from Illinois: 96

Average hourly rate for Illinois (which includes responses from Chicago): $36.55

Average hourly rate for Chicago: $37.36

Average hourly rate for Chicago in 2010: $37.46

Differential: $0.10 decrease

The most common hourly rates reported were: $35 (12%), $40 (11%), $36 (10%), and $37 (9%).

Benefits available through employer

• Health insurance, 21%
• Employer contribution towards retirement, 55%
• Paid vacation and holidays, 79%
• Paid sick leave, 23%
• Life insurance, 4%
• Dental insurance, 23%
• Disability insurance, 0%
• CE tuition reimbursement, 32%

Comments about Chicago

• The doctors are starting to pay peanuts because they can now. They have hygienists knocking down the door for jobs. We now have hygienists who won't be able to start practicing immediately after graduation, what kind of hygienist will they be? They will lose a lot of their hygiene knowledge and scaling skills in the time between graduation and the time they find a job, which may be years.
• To keep my job i have had to take major pay cuts and take on extra responsibilities work harder for less money
• I am still earning $40 an hour when I substitute for dentists in Lake County since I got licensed seven years ago. It is RARE to fine a full time hygiene position You are fortunate to find two days in a office! Thankful to have a job!
• The office I work for downtown Chicago had tremendously slowed down and have not received a raise in over a year, with no benefits. On the other hand, my suburban office is extremely busy and have gotten a raise in the last year, plus bonus and 125 dollar s a month for health insurance.
• Although I have recently recieved a raise my employer has cut paid holidays due to the economy.
• There are currently too many hygiene schools in the Chicago area and will open a new on in 2013 making it even harder for new grad to find work. There needs to be regulations. I have been a hygienist for over 35 years and have never seen the market so bad.
• I have not only not received a raise in the past 5 years, I have had some benefits taken away. I had accrued five weeks of vacation and sick leave. Now it has been cut down to 2 weeks vacation and no sick leave. We are now asked to punch out if we do not have a patient the hour before or the hour after lunch. We were told that Hygiene production has gone up $5000 this year but the office has gone down by 7%.
• I work in two offices. One office is doing well and I feel my salary is fair. In the other office, I have not received a raise in 7 years and am $7 below the average. My schedule is usually full, but the doctor's is slow, so we have all been denied raises. I do get full salary for vacation at the first office mentioned, less at the other no holiday, sick or doctor off day pay at either. We just get a smaller check. Neither lets me work when they are on vacation and we are allowed to work when they are not in in Illinois. I think that they are afraid of missing out on the exam fee.