Chicago vs. Houston
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 51-1011
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 1.5% higher — but after local prices, the advantage flips: a median salary goes further in Houston.
Chicago's median $76,500 buys $73,800 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Houston's $75,330 buys $76,400 (98.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Houston against Chicago.
| Chicago | Houston | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 20,970 | 15,270 | −27.2% |
| 10th percentile | $47,370 | $46,060 | −2.8% |
| 25th percentile | $59,380 | $57,490 | −3.2% |
| Median | $76,500 | $75,330 | −1.5% |
| 75th percentile | $93,880 | $97,660 | +4.0% |
| 90th percentile | $104,890 | $128,360 | +22.4% |
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
- First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers in Chicago · First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers in Houston
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.