Houston vs. Los Angeles
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
Los Angeles's median is 6.2% higher — but after local prices, the advantage flips: a median salary goes further in Houston.
Houston's median $56,840 buys $57,600 at national prices (price parity 98.6); Los Angeles's $60,340 buys $53,100 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Houston.
| Houston | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 49,750 | 61,270 | +23.2% |
| 10th percentile | $38,320 | $42,910 | +12.0% |
| 25th percentile | $46,830 | $49,020 | +4.7% |
| Median | $56,840 | $60,340 | +6.2% |
| 75th percentile | $64,410 | $70,600 | +9.6% |
| 90th percentile | $79,490 | $80,120 | +0.8% |
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 Houston · Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 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.