Los Angeles vs. New York
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 49-9021
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 5.6% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 6.6%.
Los Angeles's median $73,830 buys $65,000 at national prices (price parity 113.6); New York's $77,990 buys $69,300 (112.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 10,720 | 21,820 | +103.5% |
| 10th percentile | $46,590 | $50,690 | +8.8% |
| 25th percentile | $58,220 | $61,350 | +5.4% |
| Median | $73,830 | $77,990 | +5.6% |
| 75th percentile | $83,490 | $93,340 | +11.8% |
| 90th percentile | $109,010 | $108,780 | −0.2% |
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
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in Los Angeles · Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers 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.