Chicago vs. San Francisco
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 13-1161
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
San Francisco's median is 53.3% higher — but after local prices, San Francisco still leads by 37.4%.
Chicago's median $80,400 buys $77,600 at national prices (price parity 103.6); San Francisco's $123,250 buys $106,600 (115.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is San Francisco against Chicago.
| Chicago | San Francisco | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 30,970 | 24,120 | −22.1% |
| 10th percentile | $49,910 | $60,680 | +21.6% |
| 25th percentile | $62,160 | $82,510 | +32.7% |
| Median | $80,400 | $123,250 | +53.3% |
| 75th percentile | $105,710 | $170,560 | +61.3% |
| 90th percentile | $140,260 | $211,140 | +50.5% |
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
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Chicago · Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in San Francisco
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.