Chicago vs. Philadelphia
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
Chicago's median is 9.4% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 8.5%.
Chicago's median $78,070 buys $75,400 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Philadelphia's $70,710 buys $68,900 (102.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Philadelphia against Chicago.
| Chicago | Philadelphia | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 11,420 | 15,920 | +39.4% |
| 10th percentile | $62,200 | $60,620 | −2.5% |
| 25th percentile | $72,860 | $64,340 | −11.7% |
| Median | $78,070 | $70,710 | −9.4% |
| 75th percentile | $81,080 | $76,300 | −5.9% |
| 90th percentile | $96,530 | $79,690 | −17.4% |
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 Philadelphia
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.