2026 Edition · An annual reference on what work pays

Atlanta vs. Chicago

First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.

Data released May 2025 BLS OEWS · SOC 53-1047
Fig. 1 — Side by side

Both distributions, one scale

10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
40k60k80k100k ATLANTA $65,290 CHICAGO $68,330
Table 1 — Adjusted

Chicago's median is 4.7% higher — but at national prices the two medians buy almost exactly the same.

Atlanta's median $65,290 buys $65,300 at national prices (price parity 100.1); Chicago's $68,330 buys $66,000 (103.6).

Table 2 — The figures

Point by point

Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Chicago against Atlanta.

AtlantaChicagoΔ
Employment16,90019,280+14.1%
10th percentile$42,530$48,040+13.0%
25th percentile$48,900$56,910+16.4%
Median$65,290$68,330+4.7%
75th percentile$78,930$80,570+2.1%
90th percentile$97,040$98,900+1.9%
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 Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling in Atlanta · First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling in Chicago

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.