Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 29-2061
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Los Angeles's median is 1.6% higher — but after local prices, the advantage flips: a median salary goes further in Chicago.
Chicago's median $78,070 buys $75,400 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $79,310 buys $69,800 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Chicago.
| Chicago | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 11,420 | 33,590 | +194.1% |
| 10th percentile | $62,200 | $64,200 | +3.2% |
| 25th percentile | $72,860 | $73,860 | +1.4% |
| Median | $78,070 | $79,310 | +1.6% |
| 75th percentile | $81,080 | $92,930 | +14.6% |
| 90th percentile | $96,530 | $96,630 | +0.1% |
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
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses in Chicago · Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses 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.