Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 35-3041
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Los Angeles's median is 7.5% higher — but at national prices the two medians buy almost exactly the same.
Chicago's median $35,670 buys $34,400 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $38,350 buys $33,800 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Chicago.
| Chicago | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 12,200 | 11,850 | −2.9% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $35,120 | +12.6% |
| 25th percentile | $33,350 | $36,490 | +9.4% |
| Median | $35,670 | $38,350 | +7.5% |
| 75th percentile | $38,040 | $46,440 | +22.1% |
| 90th percentile | $44,010 | $56,160 | +27.6% |
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 Servers, Nonrestaurant in Chicago · Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Los Angeles
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.