Los Angeles vs. New York
Cooks, Restaurant. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 35-2014
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 1.6% higher — but at national prices the two medians buy almost exactly the same.
Los Angeles's median $44,460 buys $39,100 at national prices (price parity 113.6); New York's $43,740 buys $38,900 (112.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 54,320 | 69,250 | +27.5% |
| 10th percentile | $37,230 | $33,040 | −11.3% |
| 25th percentile | $38,290 | $36,740 | −4.0% |
| Median | $44,460 | $43,740 | −1.6% |
| 75th percentile | $47,330 | $47,310 | −0.0% |
| 90th percentile | $55,010 | $54,240 | −1.4% |
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, Restaurant in Los Angeles · Cooks, Restaurant 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.