Chicago vs. New York
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 51-9111
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 10.4% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 17.5%.
Chicago's median $43,290 buys $41,800 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $38,790 buys $34,500 (112.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Chicago.
| Chicago | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 21,830 | 16,110 | −26.2% |
| 10th percentile | $35,510 | $34,200 | −3.7% |
| 25th percentile | $38,530 | $36,310 | −5.8% |
| Median | $43,290 | $38,790 | −10.4% |
| 75th percentile | $47,910 | $47,850 | −0.1% |
| 90th percentile | $60,820 | $59,200 | −2.7% |
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
- Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders in Chicago · Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 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.