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Home / General Contractors / Illinois
How to become a general contractor in Illinois
Most general contractors in Illinois start in an apprenticeship or a helper job and learn on the job. The contractor license comes later, if you run your own business.
Pick your way in
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In IL
- 17 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In IL
- 23 schools with programs
Start on a crew
Get hired as a helper by a licensed general contractor and log hours on the job.
- Pay
- Paid on the job
- Start
- No experience needed
The license steps
Get hired or start training
Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.
Work as a general contractor
Run your own shop
Illinois has no state general contractor license. Cities and counties license general contractors, so check with the building department where you work.
- Issued by
- City or county
$105,750
a year is the median for general contractors in Illinois ($50.84 an hour, May 2025).2
Pay by city and percentile- Chicago–Naperville$53.49
- Rockford$49.11
- Kankakee$48.39
- Peoria$47.44
- Springfield$46.70
Questions
Do you need a license to work on your own as a general contractor in Illinois?
Illinois has no state general contractor license; cities and counties license contractors.
Are general contractors in demand in Illinois?
Projections Central expects about 1,690 general contractor openings a year in Illinois through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.1
Find an apprenticeship near you
17 registered programs in Illinois. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for general contractors in Illinois
Sources
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Illinois, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)