The Mayor of Chicago earns a base salary of $221,052 in 2026. The figure is written into the Chicago Municipal Code and adjusts each year with inflation, though current Mayor Brandon Johnson has declined the scheduled raises for both 2025 and 2026. On top of the paycheck, the job carries a police security detail, city vehicles, an expense account, a municipal pension, and a thick layer of ethics restrictions.
What the Mayor Earns Right Now
The City Council reset executive pay in 2023, fixing the mayor’s salary at $216,210 as of May 15 that year and building in automatic annual adjustments starting January 1, 2024. The first adjustment lifted the salary to $221,052, and that is the current rate.1American Legal Publishing. Municipal Code of Chicago 2-152-051 – Salaries – Annual Appropriation – Clerk, Treasurer, and Mayor
Johnson accepted the inflation raise in his first year but opted out for 2025 and 2026. He is one of only four elected city officials who declined the scheduled 2026 increase.2City of Chicago. Request for Information from Annual Appropriation Committee Hearing – Non-Union Salary Increases Before the 2023 overhaul, the salary had been stuck at $209,915, which is what prompted the Council to move to automatic adjustments.
How the Annual Raise Is Calculated
Section 2-152-051 of the Municipal Code ties the mayor’s pay to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, Chicago All Items. Each year the Budget Director compares the most recent July index reading to the previous July’s, and that percentage becomes the raise for the following calendar year. The increase cannot exceed five percent, no matter how high inflation runs, and the new rate takes effect at the start of the first pay period of the new year.1American Legal Publishing. Municipal Code of Chicago 2-152-051 – Salaries – Annual Appropriation – Clerk, Treasurer, and Mayor
A mayor who wants to skip the raise must file a sworn statement with the Budget Director by September 15 of the prior year. Once filed, the choice cannot be reversed for that year. The same opt-out mechanism covers the City Clerk and City Treasurer, whose pay is set by the same ordinance.
How Chicago Compares to Other Cities
At $221,052, Chicago’s mayor is paid less than several peers. New York City’s mayor makes $300,500.3The New York City Council. Int 1493-2025 Los Angeles raised its mayoral salary to $495,000 in 2025, though Mayor Karen Bass announced plans to cut her own pay amid a city budget deficit. Houston’s mayor earns roughly $236,000.
Inside Chicago’s own government, most alderpersons are set to earn around $155,688 in 2026 after accepting their inflation-linked raise. That puts the mayor’s pay at about 1.4 times a rank-and-file council member’s. Two alderpersons opted out of the 2026 increase, and one earns a lower grandfathered amount of $126,000.
Security, Vehicles, and Expenses
The base salary is not the whole package. A Chicago Police Department security detail travels with the mayor; the mayor’s office describes four officers as the standard travel contingent, with the size adjusted to circumstances. The city also provides vehicles for official transportation and maintains an expense account that covers travel and hosting duties. Those expenditures are subject to municipal ethics rules and periodic public review.
Pension and Retirement
The mayor participates in the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. Employee contributions depend on when the person first entered the fund: Tier 2 members contribute 8.5 percent of salary and Tier 3 members contribute 11.5 percent.4Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. Pension Benefit Overview
The retirement annuity equals years of service multiplied by 2.4 percent, multiplied by the final average salary. Service credit is capped at 33.5 years, which caps the pension at 80 percent of final average salary. For Tier 1 members, final average salary is the highest average annual pay over any four consecutive years within the last ten years of service. For Tier 2 and Tier 3 members, the averaging window is eight consecutive years.
To draw a monthly pension, a member needs at least ten years of service and must be 60 or older. Twenty years of service lowers the eligibility age to 55, and 30 years lowers it to 50.5Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. Benefits FAQ A mayor who serves only a single four-year term will not vest on that service alone, and would need other qualifying municipal service to hit ten years.
Gift Limits
The Governmental Ethics Ordinance limits what the mayor and immediate family members can accept. Non-cash gifts from any single source cannot exceed $50 in a calendar year. Cash and gift cards are prohibited in any amount, and so are anonymous gifts. Multiple people connected to the same company count as a single source for the $50 limit.6City of Chicago. The Gift Restrictions in Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance
The mayor also files an annual Statement of Financial Interests disclosing gifts from any single source worth more than $250, excluding family gifts. Penalties for violating the gift rules can include public disclosure, employment sanctions, voiding of related contracts, and fines of up to $20,000 per violation.
What Happens After Leaving Office
A former mayor faces a two-year ban on lobbying any city department, agency, board, commission, or official. Lobbying here means acting on someone else’s behalf to influence city decisions on contracts, zoning, development, or legislation.7City of Chicago. The Revolving Door – Post-Employment Restrictions
Several narrower restrictions run alongside that two-year window. For one year after leaving office, the former mayor cannot assist or represent anyone on a matter they were personally and substantially involved in while in office. If the mayor exercised direct supervisory responsibility over a specific city contract, they can never assist anyone on that contract. A former mayor who was counsel of record or personally involved in a legal proceeding cannot later represent the other side. Confidential information acquired in office can never be disclosed.