Houston vs. Los Angeles
Civil Engineers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 17-2051
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 7.6% higher — but after local prices, the advantage flips: a median salary goes further in Houston.
Houston's median $100,950 buys $102,400 at national prices (price parity 98.6); Los Angeles's $108,640 buys $95,700 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Houston.
| Houston | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 12,140 | 16,340 | +34.6% |
| 10th percentile | $67,250 | $72,860 | +8.3% |
| 25th percentile | $80,010 | $84,480 | +5.6% |
| Median | $100,950 | $108,640 | +7.6% |
| 75th percentile | $130,990 | $141,560 | +8.1% |
| 90th percentile | $168,240 | $170,670 | +1.4% |
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
- Civil Engineers in Houston · Civil Engineers 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.