Boston vs. Chicago
Marketing Managers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 11-2021
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Boston's median is 22.7% higher — but after local prices, Boston still leads by 19.2%.
Boston's median $213,910 buys $197,600 at national prices (price parity 108.3); Chicago's $165,340 buys $159,600 (103.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Chicago against Boston.
| Boston | Chicago | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 11,940 | 17,400 | +45.7% |
| 10th percentile | $131,130 | $98,400 | −25.0% |
| 25th percentile | $169,070 | $127,450 | −24.6% |
| Median | $213,910 | $165,340 | −22.7% |
| 75th percentile | $269,300 | $213,290 | −20.8% |
| 90th percentile | $312,910 | $277,220 | −11.4% |
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
- Marketing Managers in Boston · Marketing Managers in Chicago
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.