Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia
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
Los Angeles's median is 18.4% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 9.7%.
Los Angeles's median $75,740 buys $66,700 at national prices (price parity 113.6); Philadelphia's $61,780 buys $60,200 (102.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Philadelphia against Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | Philadelphia | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 30,600 | 14,260 | −53.4% |
| 10th percentile | $46,860 | $45,690 | −2.5% |
| 25th percentile | $59,470 | $48,190 | −19.0% |
| Median | $75,740 | $61,780 | −18.4% |
| 75th percentile | $100,620 | $76,600 | −23.9% |
| 90th percentile | $117,430 | $98,470 | −16.1% |
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 Los Angeles · Carpenters in Philadelphia
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.