Chicago vs. New York
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
New York's median is 26.7% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 16.6%.
Chicago's median $101,750 buys $98,200 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $128,930 buys $114,500 (112.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Chicago.
| Chicago | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 17,150 | 53,870 | +214.1% |
| 10th percentile | $67,480 | $79,340 | +17.6% |
| 25th percentile | $79,330 | $103,140 | +30.0% |
| Median | $101,750 | $128,930 | +26.7% |
| 75th percentile | $129,950 | $174,990 | +34.7% |
| 90th percentile | $167,300 | $225,390 | +34.7% |
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 Chicago · Financial and Investment Analysts in New York
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.