2026 Edition · An annual reference on what work pays

Atlanta vs. Chicago

Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.

Data released May 2025 BLS OEWS · SOC 41-3091
Fig. 1 — Side by side

Both distributions, one scale

10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
50k100k150k ATLANTA $78,950 CHICAGO $70,710
Table 1 — Adjusted

Atlanta's median is 10.4% higher — but after local prices, Atlanta still leads by 13.5%.

Atlanta's median $78,950 buys $78,900 at national prices (price parity 100.1); Chicago's $70,710 buys $68,300 (103.6).

Table 2 — The figures

Point by point

Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Chicago against Atlanta.

AtlantaChicagoΔ
Employment33,90055,730+64.4%
10th percentile$37,610$39,570+5.2%
25th percentile$52,650$49,540−5.9%
Median$78,950$70,710−10.4%
75th percentile$105,720$100,790−4.7%
90th percentile$159,200$154,540−2.9%
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
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Atlanta · Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Chicago

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.