Houston vs. Los Angeles
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
Los Angeles's median is 52.7% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 32.6%.
Houston's median $27,570 buys $28,000 at national prices (price parity 98.6); Los Angeles's $42,110 buys $37,100 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Houston.
| Houston | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 105,810 | 160,270 | +51.5% |
| 10th percentile | $21,630 | $35,720 | +65.1% |
| 25th percentile | $22,720 | $36,540 | +60.8% |
| Median | $27,570 | $42,110 | +52.7% |
| 75th percentile | $30,370 | $44,470 | +46.4% |
| 90th percentile | $35,210 | $46,830 | +33.0% |
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 Houston · Fast Food and Counter Workers 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.