Arlington Heights vs. Naperville
Two Illinois fire departments, 30 miles apart. Same pension, same shift, very different paychecks and cost of living. Every number below comes straight from the current union contract — no estimates, no seeded data.
"Wins" just means the more candidate-friendly side on that row — you decide what matters to you.
The side-by-side
The details that actually matter
- Starting salaryFirefighter, Step 1 — straight from the contract$86,920$85,383
- Top-out salaryFirefighter, highest step in the pay schedule$128,130Step 8$123,854Step 8
- Years to top payHow long until you reach the top step8 years8 years
- Shift schedule24 hours on, 48 hours off — the classic fire schedule24 / 4824 / 48
- Residency requiredDo you have to live inside the city?YesMust live in townNoLive anywhere
- Health premium sharePortion of the health insurance premium the employee pays14%20%
- PensionBoth fall under the Illinois Firefighters' Pension Fund (Article 4)IL FF Pension (Art. 4)IL FF Pension (Art. 4)
- Paid academyYou get paid while you're in trainingYesYes
- Median home priceWhat a typical single-family home sells for locally$401,290$531,099
- Home vs. starting payHow many years of starting salary equals one median home4.6× salary6.2× salary
Every pay and benefit number above was extracted from the department's current CBA. Home prices come from the Zillow Home Value Index for each city.
The takeaway
Same job title. Very different life.
About $1,500 higher starting, $4,300 higher at top step, and you keep more of your paycheck thanks to a lower health premium share.
No residency requirement means you can buy in a cheaper suburb — a real lever when the median Naperville home runs ~$130,000 higher.
Both departments run 24/48 and both fall under the Illinois Firefighters' Pension Fund (Article 4). No advantage either way.
Arlington Heights costs about 4.6× your starting salary for a median home. Naperville is 6.2×. That gap dwarfs the $1,500 pay difference.
Your turn
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