Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 35-2012
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 14.4% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 5.2%.
Los Angeles's median $45,400 buys $40,000 at national prices (price parity 113.6); Philadelphia's $38,870 buys $37,900 (102.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Philadelphia against Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | Philadelphia | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 9,860 | 9,810 | −0.5% |
| 10th percentile | $37,100 | $30,340 | −18.2% |
| 25th percentile | $39,070 | $35,580 | −8.9% |
| Median | $45,400 | $38,870 | −14.4% |
| 75th percentile | $49,680 | $45,560 | −8.3% |
| 90th percentile | $59,300 | $48,400 | −18.4% |
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
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Los Angeles · Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Philadelphia
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.