Chicago vs. New York
Accountants and Auditors. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 13-2011
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
New York's median is 28.3% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 18.1%.
Chicago's median $82,360 buys $79,500 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $105,650 buys $93,900 (112.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Chicago.
| Chicago | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 41,360 | 111,930 | +170.6% |
| 10th percentile | $59,530 | $71,850 | +20.7% |
| 25th percentile | $72,280 | $82,830 | +14.6% |
| Median | $82,360 | $105,650 | +28.3% |
| 75th percentile | $103,120 | $137,490 | +33.3% |
| 90th percentile | $134,100 | $174,750 | +30.3% |
Sources
How this page was made
- Wage data
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
- Price parity
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
- Full pages
- Accountants and Auditors in Chicago · Accountants and Auditors in New York
Percentiles are reported exactly as released. Derived (price-adjusted) figures round to the nearest hundred. We take no payment for how any figure is presented.