Chicago vs. New York
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 7.6% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 15.0%.
Chicago's median $80,440 buys $77,600 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $74,300 buys $66,000 (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 | 14,220 | 34,210 | +140.6% |
| 10th percentile | $41,220 | $46,860 | +13.7% |
| 25th percentile | $58,770 | $60,160 | +2.4% |
| Median | $80,440 | $74,300 | −7.6% |
| 75th percentile | $113,970 | $98,080 | −13.9% |
| 90th percentile | $118,450 | $123,810 | +4.5% |
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 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.