Chicago vs. Dallas
Fast Food and Counter Workers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 35-3023
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 18.9% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 18.5%.
Chicago's median $34,630 buys $33,400 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Dallas's $28,070 buys $27,200 (103.1).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Dallas against Chicago.
| Chicago | Dallas | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 97,280 | 128,380 | +32.0% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $23,090 | −26.0% |
| 25th percentile | $31,200 | $26,840 | −14.0% |
| Median | $34,630 | $28,070 | −18.9% |
| 75th percentile | $36,590 | $31,150 | −14.9% |
| 90th percentile | $38,610 | $36,240 | −6.1% |
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
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in Chicago · Fast Food and Counter Workers in Dallas
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.