Chicago vs. Houston
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 25-2031
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Chicago's median is 33.8% higher — but after local prices, Chicago still leads by 30.4%.
Chicago's median $98,970 buys $95,500 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Houston's $65,540 buys $66,500 (98.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Houston against Chicago.
| Chicago | Houston | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 32,790 | 26,260 | −19.9% |
| 10th percentile | $60,380 | $56,760 | −6.0% |
| 25th percentile | $76,440 | $61,950 | −19.0% |
| Median | $98,970 | $65,540 | −33.8% |
| 75th percentile | $126,420 | $74,670 | −40.9% |
| 90th percentile | $140,600 | $80,470 | −42.8% |
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
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Chicago · Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Houston
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.