Boston vs. Chicago
Financial and Investment Analysts. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 13-2051
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Boston's median is 13.4% higher — but after local prices, Boston still leads by 9.5%.
Boston's median $117,520 buys $108,500 at national prices (price parity 108.3); Chicago's $101,750 buys $98,200 (103.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Chicago against Boston.
| Boston | Chicago | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 13,010 | 17,150 | +31.8% |
| 10th percentile | $79,030 | $67,480 | −14.6% |
| 25th percentile | $92,060 | $79,330 | −13.8% |
| Median | $117,520 | $101,750 | −13.4% |
| 75th percentile | $163,600 | $129,950 | −20.6% |
| 90th percentile | $207,010 | $167,300 | −19.2% |
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
- Financial and Investment Analysts in Boston · Financial and Investment Analysts in Chicago
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.