Dallas 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
Houston's median is 0.9% higher — but after local prices, Houston still leads by 5.5%.
Dallas's median $46,210 buys $44,800 at national prices (price parity 103.1); 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 Dallas.
| Dallas | Houston | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 16,440 | 16,520 | +0.5% |
| 10th percentile | $33,560 | $32,540 | −3.0% |
| 25th percentile | $38,390 | $38,270 | −0.3% |
| Median | $46,210 | $46,630 | +0.9% |
| 75th percentile | $59,280 | $60,060 | +1.3% |
| 90th percentile | $80,990 | $77,090 | −4.8% |
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
- Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers in Dallas · 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.