Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Postal Service Mail Carriers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 43-5052
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 0.8% higher — but after local prices, the advantage flips: a median salary goes further in Chicago.
Chicago's median $63,750 buys $61,500 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $64,250 buys $56,600 (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 | 10,320 | 10,940 | +6.0% |
| 10th percentile | $44,160 | $44,160 | +0.0% |
| 25th percentile | $52,190 | $53,310 | +2.1% |
| Median | $63,750 | $64,250 | +0.8% |
| 75th percentile | $81,040 | $81,040 | +0.0% |
| 90th percentile | $81,040 | $81,040 | +0.0% |
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
- Postal Service Mail Carriers in Chicago · Postal Service Mail Carriers 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.