Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 43-3031
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Los Angeles's median is 13.9% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 3.9%.
Chicago's median $51,440 buys $49,700 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $58,590 buys $51,600 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Chicago.
| Chicago | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 35,660 | 53,910 | +51.2% |
| 10th percentile | $36,140 | $40,660 | +12.5% |
| 25th percentile | $45,620 | $48,030 | +5.3% |
| Median | $51,440 | $58,590 | +13.9% |
| 75th percentile | $61,610 | $67,710 | +9.9% |
| 90th percentile | $73,430 | $79,500 | +8.3% |
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
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Chicago · Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Los Angeles
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.