Los Angeles vs. Seattle
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
Seattle's median is 0.9% higher — but after local prices, Seattle still leads by 3.1%.
Los Angeles's median $75,740 buys $66,700 at national prices (price parity 113.6); Seattle's $76,410 buys $68,800 (111.1).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Seattle against Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | Seattle | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 30,600 | 14,970 | −51.1% |
| 10th percentile | $46,860 | $58,090 | +24.0% |
| 25th percentile | $59,470 | $63,740 | +7.2% |
| Median | $75,740 | $76,410 | +0.9% |
| 75th percentile | $100,620 | $99,700 | −0.9% |
| 90th percentile | $117,430 | $123,750 | +5.4% |
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 Seattle
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.