Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Construction Managers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 11-9021
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 12.3% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 2.4%.
Chicago's median $117,280 buys $113,200 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $131,680 buys $116,000 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Chicago.
| Chicago | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 13,850 | 10,120 | −26.9% |
| 10th percentile | $55,500 | $75,730 | +36.5% |
| 25th percentile | $82,330 | $100,830 | +22.5% |
| Median | $117,280 | $131,680 | +12.3% |
| 75th percentile | $151,650 | $164,310 | +8.3% |
| 90th percentile | $178,140 | $212,330 | +19.2% |
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 Managers in Chicago · Construction Managers 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.