Chicago vs. Dallas
Food Preparation Workers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 35-2021
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 13.2% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 12.8%.
Chicago's median $35,410 buys $34,200 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Dallas's $30,740 buys $29,800 (103.1).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Dallas against Chicago.
| Chicago | Dallas | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 27,100 | 21,700 | −19.9% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $24,320 | −22.1% |
| 25th percentile | $31,200 | $27,910 | −10.5% |
| Median | $35,410 | $30,740 | −13.2% |
| 75th percentile | $38,870 | $37,040 | −4.7% |
| 90th percentile | $45,330 | $44,110 | −2.7% |
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
- Food Preparation Workers in Chicago · Food Preparation Workers in Dallas
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.