Boston vs. New York
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 35-9031
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 3.9% higher — but at national prices the two medians buy almost exactly the same.
Boston's median $35,140 buys $32,500 at national prices (price parity 108.3); New York's $36,500 buys $32,400 (112.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Boston.
| Boston | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 10,580 | 18,530 | +75.1% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $32,220 | +3.3% |
| 25th percentile | $31,200 | $34,320 | +10.0% |
| Median | $35,140 | $36,500 | +3.9% |
| 75th percentile | $36,760 | $43,160 | +17.4% |
| 90th percentile | $42,290 | $51,860 | +22.6% |
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
- Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop in Boston · Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop 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.