Averages

• Job opportunities should be excellent for water treatment operators through at least 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average salary for these workers in Illinois as of May 2011 was $22.14 per hour, or $46,050 per year. This was about 10 percent higher than the national average pay rate for this occupation of $19.99 per hour, or $41,580 per year.
  
  

Salary Range

• The salary range for water treatment operators is very wide. The middle 50 percent of these workers in Illinois had annual salaries of $34,670 to $57,210 in 2009. The bottom 10 percent were earning $25,300 and less, while the top 10 percent had annual wages of $67,460 and higher.
  
  

Highest-Paying Regions

• The highest-paying metro region in Illinois for water treatment operators in 2009 was the greater Chicago area, including Naperville and Joliet. The average salary there was $57,130, ranking in the top 25 percent nationwide. Springfield was the second-highest paying location in the state for water treatment operators, with an average salary of $53,500 per year.
  
  

Other Areas

• The lowest-paying regions in Illinois for water treatment operators were the west central nonmetropolitan area, where the average pay rate was $31,250 per year, and the south nonmetropolitan area at $35,320 per year. Salaries were significantly higher in other parts of the state. Water treatment operators in the northwest nonmetropolitan area had an average annual salary of $41,320, in the east central nonmetropolitan area $41,780, in Rockford $41,810, in the Champaign-Urbana area $42,720 and in Peoria $44,880.