Chicago vs. New York
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 53-3032
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 4.4% higher — but after local prices, the advantage flips: a median salary goes further in Chicago.
Chicago's median $62,300 buys $60,100 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $65,040 buys $57,800 (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 | 62,210 | 65,100 | +4.6% |
| 10th percentile | $41,300 | $50,440 | +22.1% |
| 25th percentile | $50,580 | $59,290 | +17.2% |
| Median | $62,300 | $65,040 | +4.4% |
| 75th percentile | $77,660 | $77,100 | −0.7% |
| 90th percentile | $88,230 | $92,710 | +5.1% |
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
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Chicago · Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 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.