Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Industrial Engineers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 17-2112
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 11.1% higher — but at national prices the two medians buy almost exactly the same.
Chicago's median $101,760 buys $98,200 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $113,040 buys $99,500 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Chicago.
| Chicago | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 12,750 | 11,460 | −10.1% |
| 10th percentile | $74,420 | $78,320 | +5.2% |
| 25th percentile | $82,260 | $96,910 | +17.8% |
| Median | $101,760 | $113,040 | +11.1% |
| 75th percentile | $126,580 | $134,930 | +6.6% |
| 90th percentile | $155,480 | $166,090 | +6.8% |
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
- Industrial Engineers in Chicago · Industrial Engineers 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.