Chicago vs. New York
Firefighters. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 33-2011
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 28.5% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 18.3%.
Chicago's median $82,820 buys $79,900 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $106,420 buys $94,500 (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 | 14,560 | 14,960 | +2.7% |
| 10th percentile | $42,080 | $56,390 | +34.0% |
| 25th percentile | $48,610 | $74,880 | +54.0% |
| Median | $82,820 | $106,420 | +28.5% |
| 75th percentile | $105,720 | $106,430 | +0.7% |
| 90th percentile | $112,930 | $115,380 | +2.2% |
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
- Firefighters in Chicago · Firefighters 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.