2026 Edition · An annual reference on what work pays

Chicago vs. New York

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.

Data released May 2025 BLS OEWS · SOC 25-2022
Fig. 1 — Side by side

Both distributions, one scale

10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
50k75k100k125k CHICAGO $78,000 NEW YORK $96,500
Table 1 — Adjusted

New York's median is 23.7% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 13.9%.

Chicago's median $78,000 buys $75,300 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $96,500 buys $85,700 (112.6).

Table 2 — The figures

Point by point

Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Chicago.

ChicagoNew YorkΔ
Employment17,30039,310+127.2%
10th percentile$50,530$62,990+24.7%
25th percentile$61,630$76,320+23.8%
Median$78,000$96,500+23.7%
75th percentile$100,610$120,980+20.2%
90th percentile$120,620$137,370+13.9%
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
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Chicago · Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in New York

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.