Chicago vs. New York
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
New York's median is 34.7% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 24.0%.
Chicago's median $117,280 buys $113,200 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $158,000 buys $140,400 (112.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Chicago.
| Chicago | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 13,850 | 12,120 | −12.5% |
| 10th percentile | $55,500 | $91,740 | +65.3% |
| 25th percentile | $82,330 | $118,630 | +44.1% |
| Median | $117,280 | $158,000 | +34.7% |
| 75th percentile | $151,650 | $202,280 | +33.4% |
| 90th percentile | $178,140 | $250,520 | +40.6% |
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 New York
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.