Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Dental Assistants. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 31-9091
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 4.2% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 12.6%.
Chicago's median $48,950 buys $47,300 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $46,900 buys $41,300 (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 | 10,490 | 21,090 | +101.0% |
| 10th percentile | $38,950 | $38,050 | −2.3% |
| 25th percentile | $46,420 | $45,190 | −2.6% |
| Median | $48,950 | $46,900 | −4.2% |
| 75th percentile | $58,210 | $50,600 | −13.1% |
| 90th percentile | $61,150 | $58,900 | −3.7% |
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
- Dental Assistants in Chicago · Dental Assistants 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.