Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia
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 25.4% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 17.3%.
Los Angeles's median $135,560 buys $119,400 at national prices (price parity 113.6); Philadelphia's $101,180 buys $98,700 (102.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Philadelphia against Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | Philadelphia | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 109,360 | 73,790 | −32.5% |
| 10th percentile | $100,980 | $79,160 | −21.6% |
| 25th percentile | $112,070 | $90,190 | −19.5% |
| Median | $135,560 | $101,180 | −25.4% |
| 75th percentile | $167,800 | $112,970 | −32.7% |
| 90th percentile | $174,200 | $121,900 | −30.0% |
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
- Registered Nurses in Los Angeles · Registered Nurses 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.