Chicago vs. New York
Human Resources Managers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 11-3121
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 18.1% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 8.7%.
Chicago's median $156,770 buys $151,300 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $185,100 buys $164,400 (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 | 10,810 | 18,480 | +71.0% |
| 10th percentile | $93,230 | $107,300 | +15.1% |
| 25th percentile | $121,230 | $142,490 | +17.5% |
| Median | $156,770 | $185,100 | +18.1% |
| 75th percentile | $200,710 | $242,400 | +20.8% |
| 90th percentile | $270,150 | $323,820 | +19.9% |
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
- Human Resources Managers in Chicago · Human Resources Managers 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.