Chicago vs. Dallas
Construction Laborers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 47-2061
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 27.8% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 27.5%.
Chicago's median $60,890 buys $58,800 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Dallas's $43,960 buys $42,600 (103.1).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Dallas against Chicago.
| Chicago | Dallas | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 26,690 | 29,670 | +11.2% |
| 10th percentile | $39,100 | $35,480 | −9.3% |
| 25th percentile | $46,290 | $37,840 | −18.3% |
| Median | $60,890 | $43,960 | −27.8% |
| 75th percentile | $100,750 | $47,400 | −53.0% |
| 90th percentile | $105,500 | $56,940 | −46.0% |
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
- Construction Laborers in Chicago · Construction Laborers in Dallas
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.