Chicago vs. Washington
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
Washington's median is 15.6% higher — but after local prices, Washington still leads by 10.0%.
Chicago's median $70,550 buys $68,100 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Washington's $81,590 buys $74,900 (108.9).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Washington against Chicago.
| Chicago | Washington | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 11,590 | 12,990 | +12.1% |
| 10th percentile | $50,160 | $57,160 | +14.0% |
| 25th percentile | $58,740 | $64,180 | +9.3% |
| Median | $70,550 | $81,590 | +15.6% |
| 75th percentile | $85,040 | $106,990 | +25.8% |
| 90th percentile | $106,040 | $126,020 | +18.8% |
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 Washington
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.