Chicago vs. Houston
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 32.1% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 28.7%.
Chicago's median $60,890 buys $58,800 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Houston's $41,350 buys $41,900 (98.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Houston against Chicago.
| Chicago | Houston | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 26,690 | 34,080 | +27.7% |
| 10th percentile | $39,100 | $34,880 | −10.8% |
| 25th percentile | $46,290 | $37,070 | −19.9% |
| Median | $60,890 | $41,350 | −32.1% |
| 75th percentile | $100,750 | $47,590 | −52.8% |
| 90th percentile | $105,500 | $58,310 | −44.7% |
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 Houston
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.