Houston vs. Los Angeles
Project Management Specialists. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 13-1082
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 8.8% higher — but after local prices, the advantage flips: a median salary goes further in Houston.
Houston's median $99,510 buys $100,900 at national prices (price parity 98.6); Los Angeles's $108,310 buys $95,400 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Houston.
| Houston | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 35,550 | 38,540 | +8.4% |
| 10th percentile | $58,560 | $65,540 | +11.9% |
| 25th percentile | $75,840 | $82,060 | +8.2% |
| Median | $99,510 | $108,310 | +8.8% |
| 75th percentile | $131,640 | $144,440 | +9.7% |
| 90th percentile | $168,070 | $185,220 | +10.2% |
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
- Project Management Specialists in Houston · Project Management Specialists 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.