Insights / Hardest-to-fill healthcare jobs / Illinois

5 hardest-to-fill healthcare jobs in Illinois

Brief Illinois Care Aides as $38,180 before the screen gets longer.

Start Illinois Care Aides from $35,800 while the role is still unposted.

Anchor Illinois Records Specialists at $57,970 and nobody swaps in a national midpoint.

Keep Illinois Records Specialists near $51,140 rather than hiding the cell.

Each occupation and metro

1Home Health and Personal Care AidesChicago, IL

Score
7.8
Band
Hard
Location quotient
0.87
Jobs per 1,000
24.044
Metro median
$38,180
U.S. median
$35,800
Pay ratio
1.07

2Medical Records SpecialistsChicago, IL

Score
7.4
Band
Hard
Location quotient
0.80
Jobs per 1,000
0.999
Metro median
$57,970
U.S. median
$51,140
Pay ratio
1.13

3Medical AssistantsChicago, IL

Score
7.3
Band
Hard
Location quotient
0.66
Jobs per 1,000
3.465
Metro median
$47,270
U.S. median
$45,690
Pay ratio
1.03

4Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational NursesChicago, IL

Score
7.2
Band
Hard
Location quotient
0.61
Jobs per 1,000
2.530
Metro median
$78,070
U.S. median
$64,400
Pay ratio
1.21

5Nursing AssistantsChicago, IL

Score
6.7
Band
Elevated
Location quotient
1.09
Jobs per 1,000
10.158
Metro median
$46,940
U.S. median
$42,260
Pay ratio
1.11

Ranked table

Swipe the table sideways. The same figures are in the blocks above.

RankOccupationMetroScoreBandLocation quotientJobs per 1,000Metro medianU.S. medianPay ratio
1Home Health and Personal Care AidesChicago, IL7.8Hard0.8724.044$38,180$35,8001.07
2Medical Records SpecialistsChicago, IL7.4Hard0.800.999$57,970$51,1401.13
3Medical AssistantsChicago, IL7.3Hard0.663.465$47,270$45,6901.03
4Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational NursesChicago, IL7.2Hard0.612.530$78,070$64,4001.21
5Nursing AssistantsChicago, IL6.7Elevated1.0910.158$46,940$42,2601.11

Takeaways

  • Show Illinois Medical Assistants wage $47,270 before someone copies a midpoint.
  • Name Illinois Medical Assistants wage $45,690 so the comparison stays on the table.
  • Put Illinois Vocational Nurses wage $78,070 rather than a round number from memory.
  • State Illinois Vocational Nurses as $64,400 before a national midpoint replaces it.

For recruiters

  • Give Illinois Nursing Assistants figure $46,940 ahead of the posting you want.
  • State Illinois Care Aides as $38,180 inside the Hiring Pack before you post.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

Related hiring pages

How the hiring score is builtHiring pagesHiring pages in Illinois

Methodology

The five rows are the five recruiting occupations on the hiring grid whose best scored metro page in Illinois has the highest score. A state with fewer than five scored recruiting occupations is omitted. Pages under 500 local workers are not scored and are not eligible. A metro page is scored only when OEWS employment for that occupation is at least 500. Below that, the page stays up and is left off this ranking. Postsecondary teaching occupations and medical scientists are left off even when they are scored. Nominal weights, before a missing shortage match is rescaled, are projected openings divided by 2025 employment 18%, projected growth 22%, the metro median divided by the U.S. median 40%, how common the occupation is locally compared with the country 8% (the location-quotient column; a lower figure means a thinner local bench), a matching HRSA shortage designation 8%, and statewide all-industry JOLTS for December 2025 4%. Bands are Standard under 4, Elevated from 4 up to 7, and Hard at 7 and above. The Illinois total-nonfarm job openings rate for December 2025 is 3.3. The U.S. rate is 4.0. Both are all-industry JOLTS rates. Rounded figures in the prose: $38,180 is stated as about $38.2K. a comparison of 1.07 is stated as 7 percent. $35,800 is stated as about $35.8K.

Sources

A Hiring Pack starts from the role and the city on the req.

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Then Was $24Now $0.99 per req report.

Or Was $149Now $19.99/month unlimited.

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