Boston vs. Philadelphia
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 25-2011
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Boston's median is 20.2% higher — but after local prices, Boston still leads by 15.7%.
Boston's median $46,030 buys $42,500 at national prices (price parity 108.3); Philadelphia's $36,750 buys $35,800 (102.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Philadelphia against Boston.
| Boston | Philadelphia | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 14,500 | 15,260 | +5.2% |
| 10th percentile | $36,360 | $30,350 | −16.5% |
| 25th percentile | $37,680 | $35,470 | −5.9% |
| Median | $46,030 | $36,750 | −20.2% |
| 75th percentile | $48,110 | $44,030 | −8.5% |
| 90th percentile | $59,340 | $59,280 | −0.1% |
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
- Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Boston · Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Philadelphia
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.