Chicago vs. New York
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
New York's median is 9.7% 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); New York's $39,120 buys $34,800 (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 | 12,200 | 19,450 | +59.4% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $33,250 | +6.6% |
| 25th percentile | $33,350 | $36,480 | +9.4% |
| Median | $35,670 | $39,120 | +9.7% |
| 75th percentile | $38,040 | $47,930 | +26.0% |
| 90th percentile | $44,010 | $52,080 | +18.3% |
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 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.