Chicago vs. Houston
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 51-9061
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 3.3% higher — but at national prices the two medians buy almost exactly the same.
Chicago's median $48,230 buys $46,600 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Houston's $46,630 buys $47,300 (98.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Houston against Chicago.
| Chicago | Houston | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 23,080 | 16,520 | −28.4% |
| 10th percentile | $36,370 | $32,540 | −10.5% |
| 25th percentile | $41,620 | $38,270 | −8.0% |
| Median | $48,230 | $46,630 | −3.3% |
| 75th percentile | $60,340 | $60,060 | −0.5% |
| 90th percentile | $77,320 | $77,090 | −0.3% |
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
- Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers in Chicago · Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers in Houston
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.