Los Angeles 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 7.4% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 8.4%.
Los Angeles's median $194,410 buys $171,200 at national prices (price parity 113.6); 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 Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 41,580 | 94,610 | +127.5% |
| 10th percentile | $93,980 | $94,070 | +0.1% |
| 25th percentile | $128,630 | $131,240 | +2.0% |
| Median | $194,410 | $208,880 | +7.4% |
| 75th percentile | $271,790 | $324,310 | +19.3% |
| 90th percentile | $375,440 | $391,620 | +4.3% |
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 Los Angeles · 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.