Chicago vs. Washington
Financial Managers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 11-3031
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Washington's median is 9.8% higher — but after local prices, Washington still leads by 4.4%.
Chicago's median $168,810 buys $163,000 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Washington's $185,270 buys $170,200 (108.9).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Washington against Chicago.
| Chicago | Washington | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 41,590 | 26,430 | −36.5% |
| 10th percentile | $103,490 | $122,670 | +18.5% |
| 25th percentile | $131,120 | $156,730 | +19.5% |
| Median | $168,810 | $185,270 | +9.8% |
| 75th percentile | $220,150 | $227,220 | +3.2% |
| 90th percentile | $321,200 | $327,470 | +2.0% |
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
- Financial Managers in Chicago · Financial Managers in Washington
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.