Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Light Truck Drivers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 53-3033
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 3.0% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 11.5%.
Chicago's median $47,950 buys $46,300 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $46,500 buys $40,900 (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 | 34,680 | 40,900 | +17.9% |
| 10th percentile | $34,780 | $37,650 | +8.3% |
| 25th percentile | $42,460 | $42,660 | +0.5% |
| Median | $47,950 | $46,500 | −3.0% |
| 75th percentile | $61,600 | $57,340 | −6.9% |
| 90th percentile | $91,900 | $95,630 | +4.1% |
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
- Light Truck Drivers in Chicago · Light Truck Drivers 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.