Boston vs. Los Angeles
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 13.0% higher — but after local prices, Boston still leads by 17.0%.
Boston's median $117,520 buys $108,500 at national prices (price parity 108.3); Los Angeles's $102,260 buys $90,000 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Boston.
| Boston | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 13,010 | 19,600 | +50.7% |
| 10th percentile | $79,030 | $67,500 | −14.6% |
| 25th percentile | $92,060 | $82,990 | −9.9% |
| Median | $117,520 | $102,260 | −13.0% |
| 75th percentile | $163,600 | $134,150 | −18.0% |
| 90th percentile | $207,010 | $181,190 | −12.5% |
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 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.