Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Paralegals and Legal Assistants. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 23-2011
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Los Angeles's median is 9.9% higher — but at national prices the two medians buy almost exactly the same.
Chicago's median $70,550 buys $68,100 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $77,520 buys $68,300 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Chicago.
| Chicago | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 11,590 | 22,240 | +91.9% |
| 10th percentile | $50,160 | $51,200 | +2.1% |
| 25th percentile | $58,740 | $59,690 | +1.6% |
| Median | $70,550 | $77,520 | +9.9% |
| 75th percentile | $85,040 | $98,440 | +15.8% |
| 90th percentile | $106,040 | $112,160 | +5.8% |
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
- Paralegals and Legal Assistants in Chicago · Paralegals and Legal Assistants in Los Angeles
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.