Chicago vs. New York
Lawyers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 23-1011
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 26.1% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 16.0%.
Chicago's median $165,660 buys $159,900 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $208,880 buys $185,600 (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 | 28,320 | 94,610 | +234.1% |
| 10th percentile | $87,070 | $94,070 | +8.0% |
| 25th percentile | $106,980 | $131,240 | +22.7% |
| Median | $165,660 | $208,880 | +26.1% |
| 75th percentile | $232,270 | $324,310 | +39.6% |
| 90th percentile | $331,140 | $391,620 | +18.3% |
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
- Lawyers in Chicago · Lawyers 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.