2026 Edition · An annual reference on what work pays

Houston vs. Los Angeles

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.

Data released May 2025 BLS OEWS · SOC 37-2011
Fig. 1 — Side by side

Both distributions, one scale

10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
30k40k50k HOUSTON $30,650 LOS ANGELES $38,720
Table 1 — Adjusted

Los Angeles's median is 26.3% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 9.7%.

Houston's median $30,650 buys $31,100 at national prices (price parity 98.6); Los Angeles's $38,720 buys $34,100 (113.6).

Table 2 — The figures

Point by point

Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Houston.

HoustonLos AngelesΔ
Employment48,88083,160+70.1%
10th percentile$23,200$35,700+53.9%
25th percentile$26,680$36,520+36.9%
Median$30,650$38,720+26.3%
75th percentile$36,770$47,070+28.0%
90th percentile$44,820$56,300+25.6%
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
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Houston · Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners 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.