Chicago vs. Houston
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 20.4% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 16.4%.
Chicago's median $34,630 buys $33,400 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Houston's $27,570 buys $28,000 (98.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Houston against Chicago.
| Chicago | Houston | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 97,280 | 105,810 | +8.8% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $21,630 | −30.7% |
| 25th percentile | $31,200 | $22,720 | −27.2% |
| Median | $34,630 | $27,570 | −20.4% |
| 75th percentile | $36,590 | $30,370 | −17.0% |
| 90th percentile | $38,610 | $35,210 | −8.8% |
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 Houston
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.