Chicago vs. New York
Packers and Packagers, Hand. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 53-7064
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
New York's median is 20.1% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 10.5%.
Chicago's median $36,180 buys $34,900 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $43,450 buys $38,600 (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 | 17,960 | 51,020 | +184.1% |
| 10th percentile | $31,570 | $33,010 | +4.6% |
| 25th percentile | $34,840 | $35,820 | +2.8% |
| Median | $36,180 | $43,450 | +20.1% |
| 75th percentile | $40,580 | $44,710 | +10.2% |
| 90th percentile | $47,420 | $47,310 | −0.2% |
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
- Packers and Packagers, Hand in Chicago · Packers and Packagers, Hand 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.