Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 25-2021
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 29.9% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 18.5%.
Chicago's median $78,390 buys $75,700 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $101,860 buys $89,700 (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 | 45,840 | 44,790 | −2.3% |
| 10th percentile | $48,960 | $62,250 | +27.1% |
| 25th percentile | $60,630 | $77,000 | +27.0% |
| Median | $78,390 | $101,860 | +29.9% |
| 75th percentile | $102,430 | $123,800 | +20.9% |
| 90th percentile | $105,250 | $129,130 | +22.7% |
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
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Chicago · Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education 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.