Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Carpenters. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 47-2031
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 5.8% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 14.1%.
Chicago's median $80,440 buys $77,600 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $75,740 buys $66,700 (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 | 14,220 | 30,600 | +115.2% |
| 10th percentile | $41,220 | $46,860 | +13.7% |
| 25th percentile | $58,770 | $59,470 | +1.2% |
| Median | $80,440 | $75,740 | −5.8% |
| 75th percentile | $113,970 | $100,620 | −11.7% |
| 90th percentile | $118,450 | $117,430 | −0.9% |
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
- Carpenters in Chicago · Carpenters 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.