Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Registered Nurses. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 29-1141
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 34.9% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 23.1%.
Chicago's median $100,490 buys $97,000 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $135,560 buys $119,400 (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 | 100,240 | 109,360 | +9.1% |
| 10th percentile | $77,410 | $100,980 | +30.4% |
| 25th percentile | $82,640 | $112,070 | +35.6% |
| Median | $100,490 | $135,560 | +34.9% |
| 75th percentile | $108,430 | $167,800 | +54.8% |
| 90th percentile | $119,260 | $174,200 | +46.1% |
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
- Registered Nurses in Chicago · Registered Nurses 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.